School for Thought
by IrishDipstick
Summary: Taylor has to change schools, and isn't impressed. Warning will contain corporal punishment or spanking of a minor.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 1

Patricia broke her good news to Taylor over dinner. "I've been offered a teaching position in another school."

It didn't take long for this piece of information, and what it meant to her, to filter through Taylor's brain. No-one there to check she showed up on time, or if she even bothered to show up. No-one standing over her all day, making sure she actually worked, and her old excuse she used at home 'I haven't got any homework' could definitely be resurrected. It wasn't that she didn't love her mom, she did, but as far as school was concerned, she couldn't get away with anything. Having Patricia as her teacher could be a real pain in the neck, or in some instances a pain in the ass literally. This was the best news she'd heard in a long time.

Taylor beamed at her mom across the table. "That's great mom. What school is it?" Hopefully it was one far enough from hers that her mom wouldn't insist on dropping her off in the mornings, or even worse, pick her up at the end of the day.

"Boyd Academy. It's the school Kayla and Jared go to."

"Who?"

'The Director's kids Taylor." Her dad added.

"Oh, them." Taylor had met them a couple of times and hadn't been impressed, they seemed a bit stuck up. Her mom was welcome to them.

"It's a private school Taylor, and a really good one. Great resources, brand new computer suites, and a massive library."

Her mom seemed pretty excited about working there. "Sounds good." Taylor checked the clock on the wall. If she wanted to give Jason the good news she'd have to do it soon, she still had her homework to do. "Can I go tell Jason?"

"We haven't told you the best bit yet." Her dad put his hand on the arm to stop her getting up. "Because your mom will be teaching there, it means there's a place available for you."

Taylor was speechless, and not in a good way. Shaking her head, Taylor looked from one to the other. They had to be winding her up, and it wasn't one bit funny. "No way!"

Again her dad stopped her from getting up. "It's too good an opportunity to pass up Taylor."

Pulling her arm away, she got to her feet, not prepared to talk about it anymore. "Well you go then! I'm going to do my homework." Taylor stalked out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door angrily behind her. Throwing herself down onto the bed she punched her pillow in frustration, not sure if she was madder about the fact she wasn't getting her freedom back after getting her hopes up, of that they actually expected her to go to a school like that. It was never going to happen. NEVER!

"That went better than I thought it would." Patricia said, then jumped at the bang as Taylor's door was nearly taken off its hinges. Jethro was out of his seat immediately, fully intent on setting a few things straight with their daughter.

"Leave her be Jethro. You can't blame her, it was rather unexpected. Give her some time on her own to think it over."

"There's nothing to think over." He protested, but sat down again anyway. "We've already talked this over, and like I told her, it's too good an opportunity to pass up. She's going, whether she likes it or not!"

"I know, but let her calm down a bit first, she might be easier to reason with if she's calmer. You know if you confront her now, she'll only dig her heels in deeper.

"It wasn't her heels I was going to confront." He ground out, still angry about Taylor's show of temper. Taking a deep, calming breath he added, "Fine, we'll wait a while before we talk to her again."

Patricia moved round behind him, and massaged some of the tension out of his shoulders. "Look on the bright side, at least we didn't have to remind her about her homework.

Homework was the last thing on Taylor's mind as she lay on her bed stewing over what had just happened. She needed to let her mom and dad realise she wasn't going to be pushed around. Her days with complying with her parents ideas about school were over. From now on she called the shots, and if she didn't feel like doing something, she wouldn't. See how they and their fancy school liked that!

Taylor didn't go back downstairs that evening, choosing instead to take a bath and go to bed early. When the alarm on her phone woke her the following morning her temper had disappeared, but she was still resolute about not changing schools. Aware that her mom was studying her carefully, Taylor grabbed a piece of toast and her bag without saying anything and headed out the front door.

As she made her way to school, Taylor was extremely tempted to veer off her normal route, just to see where she ended up. She couldn't find enough courage to do that though, and soon found herself seated at her desk.

"Where's your homework Taylor?" Patricia hadn't missed the fact her daughter hadn't passed any work up to the front, and stopped her as she started to follow her classmates from the room at lunchtime.

"The dog ate it."

From her mom's expression Taylor knew she wasn't happy, but then, neither was she. Turning away from her, Taylor made another attempt at reaching the door."

"Sit down."

Taylor stopped, but didn't turn. "It's lunchtime."

"I know what time it is, and you're going to spend it doing the work you were supposed to do last night."

Letting out a loud sigh, just to make sure her mom knew exactly what she thought of that suggestion, Taylor sat down anyway and pulled out the sheet of questions. "Don't I get to eat today?"

Taylor watched as her mom reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out the lunch bag she'd forgotten to lift, and set it in front of her.

"You can multitask, and don't think we won't be talking about this later."

"I know you're upset about moving to another school….."

Patricia had followed Taylor up to her room as soon as they'd arrived home. She really wanted her daughter to snap out of her mood before her dad got home. Patricia very much doubted that Jethro would let the angry and sullen attitude slide a second time.

"I'm not upset, cause I'm not goin'"

Patricia shook her head. "Taylor it's one of those situations where you don't have a choice, and the sooner you realise that, the easier it'll be for all of us." When the only response from her daughter another angry glare, she knew there wasn't much point in going on.

"If you want to sit up here on your own and sulk that's fine with me, but I want to check your homework first if you're planning on going out."

Leaving her to it, Patricia decided to give Jacky a call and invite her to lunch on Sunday. Maybe if Taylor had the opportunity to talk to Jared and Kayla she would realise it wasn't so bad after all.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor wasn't looking forward to lunch on Sunday, and true to form she'd tried just about everything she could think of to get out of it. None had worked, so instead she sat quietly ignoring everything and everyone around her. Her dad had managed to avoid their little social gathering so far, choosing instead to hide himself away in the basement.

"I hear you're going to be joining Kayla and Jared at school soon."

There it was, Taylor knew the subject was going to raise its ugly head at some point. "You heard wrong then." She spat out.

Ignoring her reply Jacky continued. "It's a great school. Kayla and Jared love it." She looked towards her children. "Don't you?"

They both nodded.

Taylor looked over at them, sitting there on the couch in their 'Sunday best'. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me." She told their mother, contempt almost dripping from each word. Taylor wasn't satisfied with that and turned to Jared.

"Wear your suit to school do you?"

He looked down at his clothes, not aware he was being insulted. "Of course not, we have to wear a uniform."

Taylor jumped to her feet. "Oh you gotta be shittin' me!"

"TAYLOR!" Her mom had picked the perfect moment to come up behind her.

Spinning round, Taylor confronted her mom. "Forgot to give me that little piece of information, did you? When did you plan on telling me about the uniform, huh? Were you going to wait until I felt guilty enough to agree to go without kicking up a fuss about it? Well you can just take your fancy school and its uniform, and stick it right up your ass!"

Patricia was so shocked by the outburst she didn't stop Taylor as she pushed past her and stormed out the front door.

Taylor was halfway down the path before she actually realised what she'd done. She stopped, not sure what to do. Well that wasn't exactly true, because she did know that she should go back in and apologise, but that would mean backing down, and she didn't want to do that.

The front door opened, and the decision was taken out of her hands.

"In." Her dad stood in the doorway, just daring her to defy him.

Easing past him warily, hands stuck firmly in the back pockets of her pants, Taylor made her way back to the war zone.

Taylor made a beeline towards the living room, trying to figure out what to say to her mom, but two hands on her shoulders guided her towards the basement instead.

They were both down the steps before her dad spoke. "Just what do you think you're playing at? Your mom's really upset!"

Hanging her head, Taylor scuffed her feet through the thin layer of sawdust covering the floor. Hell, now he was making her feel guilty.

"ANSWER ME!"

"I can't. I don't know what to say."

"Oh, you'd better come up with something a bit better than that!'

"Like what?"

"Well for a start you can tell me exactly what you said to your mom to upset her so much."

'F***!" Taylor thought, that's why he was so calm, he didn't know exactly what had happened. Swallowing hard she looked up at her dad and managed to squeak out, "She didn't tell you?"

He folded his arms. "I'm losing patience Taylor, now spit it out!"

"I…ah…..sorta…told her what she could….ah….do with her new school….and the uniform. Did you know there was a uniform? Cause I sure as hell didn't!" Anger rising again at the thought.

"I don't care if you have to go dressed as a clown! NOW WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Taylor's answer came out as a whisper. " I told her she could stick them up her ass."

"YOU WHAT?" He took a threatening step towards her, and Taylor reacted by taking a defensive step back.

"I didn't mean it! I just got mad. It's not my fault! Wasn't my idea to bring the 'Stepford ' kids here. There's no way I'm gonna end up like one of them!"

Taylor waited for her father to start shouting the odds, but he just gave her a strange look, then climbed the steps. When he reached the top, Taylor's relief quickly vanished. Instead of leaving, Gibbs just closed the door before turning and descending again, eyes locked on her. It looked as if one of them was going to be making a lot of noise. Either that or he was trying to freak her out. It was working.

'We're gonna settle this here and now." He stated, voice laced with steel.

Taylor took another couple of steps back as he approached. "There's nothing to settle, I'm not going to that dumb school."

"Oh, you're going alright."

"Not." She shook her head, and forced herself to stand her ground, although she was beginning to doubt whether her level of confidence matched his determination.

Her dad didn't stop until he was standing so close to her that it was difficult to look up at him.

Taylor shuffled her feet, uncomfortably.

"This is how it's going to be. First, you're going to apologise to your mom. You had no right to speak to her like that. All she's trying to do is look out for your best interests, and you should count yourself lucky that she cares enough about you to do that."

She blushed, as the guilt of what she'd said to her mom washed over her again.

"As for the whole ' I'm not going to a new school' thing, it ends now. You'll be in that classroom, even if I have to blister your backside every morning and set you behind your desk myself. Got it?"

Taylor tried to take a step away from him, but he grabbed a hold of her arm and stopped her. "Answer me."

"You wouldn't!"

"When do I ever make promises I don't keep?"

She looked up at him, uncertain now. She had assumed it was an empty threat to scare her into submission. Taylor dropped her eyes to the floor. "I don't wanna go dad, and it's not fair that just cause you're bigger than me you can make me do what you want!"

He took a hold of her chin and tilted her head up. "I'm not making you go because I'm bigger than you. I'm making you go because I'm your father, and I know what's best for you."

Taylor jerked her head away, not believing that for a second. "They wear a uniform dad! That's just so….so…" She blinked back the tears of frustration that were threatening to fall. He just didn't get it.

"Hey! You think I never had to wear a uniform? You'll get used to it."

"I'm not a marine, and I don't want to get used to it!" Now Taylor did start to cry, and she brushed the tears away quickly with her sleeve, angry that she'd lost control.

Kneeling down, Gibbs made his daughter look at him again, as he held her arms.

"In a few weeks, when you've settled in, you won't even remember why you were worried."

"What do you mean, in a few weeks? Taylor had assumed she wouldn't have to start until the new school year, in the fall. Now her back was up again, and she pulled away from him. "When?"

He looked confused. "When what?"

"When do you THINK I'm gonna start?"

Gibbs stood up when the defiance returned. "You WILL be starting the week after next. Like it or not." He was done with this. Reaching for his belt he quickly slipped it off, and Taylor immediately backed away.

"Wh….what are you doing that for?"

"We still have the little matter of how you spoke to your mom to deal with."

"But everyone's upstairs, waiting!" Any excuse would do right now.

"That's okay. It won't take long."

For some dumb reason Taylor hadn't expected her dad to spank her. The last time he'd busted her butt had been in Stillwater, and that had been weeks ago. Since then she hadn't received as much as a single swat, and had been hoping it was because she was twelve now, and too old to spank. Hey, she could dream.

"But I'm gonna tell her I'm sorry!" She protested as he managed to grab her arm."

"I know you are!" Propping his foot up on a low stack of wood he lifted her over his knee. "And if you don't do a good enough job, we'll just come right back down here and keep repeating this, until you get it right. You really did hurt her feelings, and I don't think the fact you did it front of Jacky helped much either."

Taylor yelped with every lick her father landed, but didn't struggle. She did feel guilty about making her mom feel bad.

He'd been right, ten smacks didn't take long, but that didn't lessen the heat in her backside when he lifted her up again, and he didn't even give her the opportunity to rub some of the sting away before leading her up the stairs. As they headed towards the sound of voices in the kitchen he stayed close, making sure she wasn't going to bolt, while Taylor scrubbed at her face with her hands, not wanting anyone to know she'd been crying.

Her mom was sitting at the table chatting to Jacky. With a helpful push from her dad, Taylor shuffled over to stand beside her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't of said….you know…" She didn't want to say it again.

"She looked back at her father, to see if that was good enough."

He just raised an eyebrow.

Obviously not.

Taylor turned back to her mom again. "And I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." That was all she had, so she didn't bother checking with her dad this time. If it wasn't, she'd find out soon enough anyway.

Patricia nodded, accepting her apology. "Why don't you take Jared and Kayla out to meet Jason. He's been sitting out there on his own for a while now. I'll call you when lunch is ready."

Taylor jumped at the chance to escape from the house, not caring that the two brats were coming with her. Making sure she shot her dad a 'hurt' look as she passed him, Taylor went in search of her two new schoolmates.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters_

Chapter 2

The expression on Jason's face was priceless as Taylor crossed the street with Jared and Kayla. She shrugged at him, then grinned.

"I thought we could give these two a guided tour of our hangouts."

Jason looked the pair over, not failing to notice what they were wearing.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Well what else are we gonna do?" She winked at him. "Now get a move on, we don't have all day."

Forty five minutes later when Jethro was sent out to fetch the kids, he opened the door to find an empty street and returned to his wife empty handed.

"We forgot to tell them to stay close by." He said as he lifted his car keys.

"They're not there?"

Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek. "Nope. You two go ahead, they can't have gone far. I'll go round them up."

Jethro was right he didn't have to go far to find them. They were only a few streets away, already on their way home. He groaned as he pulled up alongside them. All four were absolutely filthy. When Taylor reached for the passenger door he quickly hit the door lock, then rolled down the window.

"You're not getting in here like that! What the hell were you doing?"

""Just showing Jared and Kayla around." His daughter replied innocently, in fact so innocently he knew straight away that she'd known exactly what she'd been doing.

"Uh huh, well the three of you can double time it back to the house, your lunch is ready."

By the time Jethro turned the car the kids were out of sight. He pulled over again to wait for a few minutes. There was no way he wanted to be there when Patricia and Jacky saw the state they were in.

"Sorry we're late." Taylor announced as she led the little group in through the kitchen door. She pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, seemingly unaware of just how dirty they all were. She had to try hard to stop herself grinning at the look on Jacky's face as she stared in horror at her children. It was a pretty safe bet she wouldn't be bringing them back here anytime soon.

"Jared, what were you doing? Your suit's ruined!" He didn't get the chance to speak before she turned to his sister. "And your dress Kyla? You know it's only new! What were you thinking?"

Taylor jumped to their defence, after all, it wasn't really their fault, and she had discovered she actually quite liked the pair. Both had been willing to take part in the mud throwing earlier. "Come on, it's just a little dirt! You can't expect to take a walk in the woods without some mud."

"You took them through the woods dressed like that?" Her mom was on her feet now, hands on her hips, looking extremely pissed.

"Well you never said I couldn't." Taylor grumbled. "I'm not a mind reader you know."

Patricia glared at her. "Go take a shower and get changed before I lose my temper Taylor."

Satisfied she'd achieved what she'd set out to do, Taylor left them to it, and headed up to her room.

When she was presentable again, Taylor made her way back down to the kitchen again. Everyone had already started eating, so she took the only remaining seat beside her dad. Judging by the looks their mother kept firing at them, it looked as if Jared and Kayla were still in trouble and Taylor was very tempted to stir it up again. Given her current position though, so close to her dad, she decided it would definitely be a suicide mission, and ruled it out.

Not surprisingly their guests didn't stay for long once the meal was over, and Taylor could hear her mom and dad apologising to Jacky as they showed her out. It was time to make herself scarce. Taking full advantage of the empty kitchen, Taylor slipped out the back door, before scaling the fence at the rear of the yard.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor didn't reappear until dinnertime when she slunk guiltily into the kitchen. Her mom wasn't there, but her dad was, coffee in hand as usual.

"Where have you been?"

"With Jason." Taylor turned her back to him as she washed her hands at the sink.

"Proud of your behaviour today, are you?"

She looked over her shoulder, hands still under the running water. "I already apologised, remember?"

He set his cup down. "You know that's not what I'm talking about."

Taylor dried her hands and leant up against the counter.

"Where's mom?" She tried to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Lying down, she has a headache."

He was trying to make her feel guilty, and it was working. "Because of me?"

Jethro shrugged and lifted his coffee. "I don't know. What do you think?"

Taylor chewed on her lip as she thought. "Maybe." She finally admitted. "Is she mad at me?"

Gibbs was not going to make this any easier for his daughter, so just raised an eyebrow.

She shifted uncomfortably. "Mad enough that I should hide the spoon?"

"You're not hiding anything, you're in enough trouble as it is!" He warned. "You'd do better going up to see how she's feeling now.

"What? No way! You just said she's angry!" That was just plain crazy.

"Well the longer you stand here arguing about it the angrier I'm gonna get. So take your pick."

Taylor pushed herself away from the counter. Some choice. "Fine, but if I make her headache worse, don't blame me!"

She successfully dodged the swat her father aimed at her as she passed him and reluctantly went to find her mom, clinging to the hope that she would be asleep.

She wasn't. Taylor could see her mom sitting on the edge of the bed, through the open bedroom door. Approaching her slowly, trying to gauge what kind of mood her mom was in, Taylor stopped in front of her. She was just about to ask how her head was, when her mom spoke.

"Decided it was safe to come back, did you?"

At least she now she knew her mom was angry. Now was the time to play dumb. "What do you mean?"

"How could you do that to Jared and Kayla? Getting them into trouble like that?"

"I didn't mean to get…." She whined."

"Don't lie to me Taylor!" Patricia stopped her dead. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you dragged them through the woods!"

""I'm sorry." Taylor conceded and hung her head.

"Are you?"

"Yes."

Patricia was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Okay, go and bring me the spoon."

Taylor's head snapped up. "What?"

"Your behaviour today was completely unacceptable Taylor. You've been so good up until recently, and just because you can't get your own way now, you don't care who you hurt just to make a point. Well I've had enough. Go and get me the spoon."

"I'm sorry mom you don…"

"I don't want to hear it Taylor. You told me you were sorry earlier after your outburst. It's obvious you didn't mean it. This time I'm going to make sure you are. Now go, you really don't want to make me any angrier!"

She was right about that. Taylor turned and walked towards the door. She edged past her dad, who was now adding pasta to a large pot of boiling water on the stove, and lifted the wooden spoon from the canister. When he didn't comment on what she was doing Taylor stopped.

"You knew she was gonna spank me, didn't you?"

"Uh huh."

"Can't you go talk to her?"

"Nope."

Taylor glared at him. "Some help you are!"

"You can't blame me, I tried to snap you out of it earlier. Now you'd better hurry up, I don't think you want your mom to come looking for you."

"Traitor." She mumbled, and having no other option went back upstairs.

Taylor hesitated in the doorway. Her mom was standing at the window, arms folded, looking out into the back yard. She was just about to reverse towards her own room when Patricia turned and held her hand out.

Sighing, Taylor moved closer, examining the spoon carefully before placing it in her mom's outstretched hand.

"Don't suppose you've changed your mind?"

"Sorry Taylor." Taking a gentle hold of her arm Patricia led her over to the bed and took a seat.

"You want to explain what you did today, to end up here?"

Taylor pouted. "You already know what I did. I got Jared and Kayla into trouble because I was piss…." She shook her head. "I was annoyed, no, I was angry at the reason they were here. You only invited them so they could talk about that flamin' school."

"So even after your dad talked to you in the basement you were still determined to get your own way?"

"Maybe." Taylor whispered. It didn't sound good. "But what if I hate it?"

"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Her mom gave her an incredulous look.

"Huh? How's it dumb?"

"Taylor, you hate school anyway, so what difference does it make which school you go to?"

She didn't have a clue what to say to that. It did make sense in a weird kind of way. Then Taylor remembered another sore point. "I have to wear a uniform, I'm gonna look stupid!"

"Now how exactly are you going to look stupid when everyone is wearing the same thing?"

"Oh…. But what about when I'm walking there and back? Someone might see me."

"That you don't have to worry about. It's too far to walk, so you'll be riding with me."

Patricia didn't say anything for a few moments, to give Taylor the opportunity to come up with any more objections, but her daughter remained silent. Taylor was too busy thinking about everything her mom had just said. Besides, she could hardly tell her the other reasons she didn't want to go.

"Do you understand how you could of avoided this spanking, by talking things over, instead of giving in to your temper?"

Taylor glanced nervously at the spoon. "Suppose."

"Good. Patricia reached out and pulled Taylor to her side.

"Mom, please. You don't have to spank me, I get it."

"I'm relieved you finally understand Taylor, but you're not talking yourself out of this one. Now take your pants down."

Taylor tried one more pleading look before lowering her pants.

Having second thoughts about cooperating, Taylor started to turn, but she'd left it too late. Instead of making a break for the door, she found herself staring at the floor.

"Mom…" Taylor felt cool air on her butt and realised her mom had pulled her shorts down. She'd never done that before. Not happy with this new development she tried to push herself up. All she got for her effort was a sharp smack from her mom's hand at the top of her thigh.

"That's enough Taylor!"

The tone of her mom's voice stilled her, but only until the wooden spoon made contact with bare skin.

Wriggling, kicking and crying didn't make any difference to the end result. Taylor's backside was well and truly ablaze. When her mom helped her up she quickly pulled up her pants and bounced from one foot to the other, trying to get the sting in her butt down to a dull roar, with little success. Taylor let her mom pull her closer, then held on tight as the tears began to fall again.

"I didn't mean to upset you when I said .." She didn't want to repeat it. "I didn't." Taylor managed to get out between sobs. "I don't know why I said it."

"Yes you do." Patricia told her softly.

She sniffed loudly and her mom passed her a tissue. "I lost my temper."

"And what usually happens when you lose your temper?"

Taylor mumbled her answer. "I get into trouble. I'm sorry." She thought again about how badly she'd treated her mom, and abruptly pulled away from her.

"What's wrong?"

Taylor looked nervously at the floor, but didn't say anything.

Patricia reached out and took her hand. "Taylor?"

Glancing up, Taylor couldn't maintain eye contact. "Do you hate me now cause of what I said?"

Taking a hold of her other hand, Patricia pulled her closer again, this time sitting her down on her lap. Taylor squirmed a little, when her backside made contact, but didn't get up.

"I don't want to ever hear you say that again. I could never hate you. I'll admit that sometimes you can make me angry, but I'm still your mom, and I'll always love you no matter what you do. Just like your dad does."

"No matter what?" Taylor rested her head on her mom's shoulder.

"Uh huh. But don't go getting any ideas, I'll still use my spoon when I have to."

Taylor considered what she'd just been told.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too, even when you make me mad."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 3

There was absolutely nothing Taylor could do their change their minds about school. She sulked, cried, and when she saw the uniform her mom brought home, started to throw one almighty tantrum. Until her dad walked in, that was, and threatened to take her back down to the basement to explain in a way she'd understand, what was going to happen and what he expected from her. So now, here she was, following the school secretary towards her new classroom, wearing her new shoes, red plaid skirt, white blouse and to top it all off a red and gold striped tie. Whoever designed it ought to be shot Taylor thought, as the secretary abandoned her at the front of the class.

"Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" Mr Millar folded his arms and waited for Taylor to speak.

Taylor looked at the rows of strange faces. Jared was sitting near the back, grinning at her, the only familiar face there. Kayla must be in another class.

"No."

"Sorry?"

From the look on her new teacher's face, he wasn't sure if he had heard correctly.

"I said no. Now where do you want me to sit?"

Mr Millar took a sheet of paper out of the drawer and began to write. "I think you've just broken a school record. You've been here all of two minutes, and you've already earned yourself a detention. When Taylor didn't respond he handed her the sheet of paper and nodded towards the desks. "Take your pick."

She chose the one closest to the back, which just happened to be beside Jared, and ignored the looks she was getting from the other students. They could think what they wanted.

As the roll was called Jared whispered over to her. "That was amazing! No one's ever done that before."

"Is he always such a di**?"

"Most of the time." He admitted.

Their conversation was cut short. "Congratulations Jared, you've just secured yourself a place in detention along with your new friend. You know the rule about talking in class."

As Jared made his way up to the front desk to collect his detention slip, Taylor slid down in her chair. This was even worse than she'd thought it would be. If she was going make it through the rest of the day without landing in any more trouble she was just gonna have to sit right where she was and keep her mouth shut.

When school was over for the day Jarod showed Taylor where her mom's classroom was. Her mom was sorting through a stack of books.

"You're going to have to wait for a while before we go home Taylor, I have to go to a staff meeting."

Hanging around was the last thing she wanted to do. "But I've been stuck in here all day!" She protested.

"You could come with me." Jared offered. "I'm going to meet my dad at NCIS."

Taylor looked at her mom hopefully. "Can I?"

"Isn't it a bit far to walk?"

Jared came to the rescue. "We don't have to walk, I'm taking a cab."

Patricia nodded and the two kids made for the door before she changed her mind.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor had figured Jared would leave her alone when they reached NCIS, but as she walked into the empty bullpen he was still following her like a little lost puppy. Making herself comfortable in her dad's chair she spun round a few times in the hope that Jared would be gone by the time she stopped. Nope. He was still there and had pulled a chair over to sit beside her.

"Aren't you going up to see your dad?"

Jared shook his head. "Don't go to the gym until five."

"What do you go to the gym for?" She asked, curious now.

"I box."

"You do?" He didn't exactly look like a fighter.

"Well I'm learning." Jared admitted modestly.

Now this could be interesting Taylor thought. "Show me."

The boy looked around, suddenly shy. "Here?"

"Sure. There's no one around."

Jared stood up and placed himself into a defensive position, standing side on, fists raised. "Try and land a punch."

Taylor was happy to oblige. Copying Jared's stance she tried to hit him, only to have it blocked. She tried again with the same result.

"HEY! PACK IT IN!"

Jared looked up towards his father's voice just as Taylor took another swing. This time she did make contact and knocked the boy on his ass.

"Looks like you need to work on that!" Taylor held her hand out to help him up.

He rubbed his jaw before speaking. "That was a lucky shot, I was distracted."

Gibbs, with Vance close behind, had made it down the stairs and both were now glaring at the pair.

"What do you two think you're playing at?" Vance asked.

"Just showing Taylor a few boxing moves dad." Jared answered, still rubbing his face.

When Jethro looked to his daughter for an explanation she shrugged.

"What can I say, he needs more practice."

The uniform jogged his memory and Gibbs forgot about the boxing. "How was school?"

"I hate it. Oh, …yeah… " Taylor reached into her bag and handed over her detention slip. "You have to sign this."

Jethro looked at it in disbelief. "Already?"

"Mr Millar said it was a new school record. Two minutes!" Jared informed him.

"What did you do?" What the hell could she do in two minutes?

"I didn't do anything!" She argued.

Gibbs held up the slip. "You must have done something."

"I didn't. I just told the truth, like you tell me to." Well she had.

"You got a detention for telling the truth? What did you say?" Getting information out of his daughter was sometimes harder than getting it out of some of the criminals he interrogated.

"He asked me if I wanted to introduce myself to the class, and I said no."

"Taylor….nevermind." Shaking his head he slipped the paper into his pocket. He really didn't want to get into this with the director there.

Vance put a hand proudly on Jared's head. "Jared's never had a detention. Isn't that right son?"

Jared looked up at him guiltily before pulling an identical piece of paper out of his bag. He handed it to his dad. "Sorry."

Gibbs didn't try and disguise his amused smile. Leon wasn't looking so smug now. He hadn't been expecting that.

"What's this for?" He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Talking in class."

"Do I even have to ask who you were talking to?" Jared didn't appear to be the least bit upset about having to spend time with Taylor in detention.

"Don't blame me!" Taylor was not going to take the rap for that one too.

Her father stepped in before she could lose her temper.

"Have you got any homework?  
Taylor and Jared answered at the same time.

"Yes."

"No." Taylor nudged Jared with her elbow, she was going to explain a few things to him later.

Instead of calling her on the obvious lie, Jethro let it slide. At least she wasn't refusing to go back to school tomorrow.

"Take it down to Abby's lab you can do it there."

Grabbing her bag, Taylor headed for the stairs.

"Dad?" Jared asked, assuming he would know what he was talking about.

Leon nodded, and watched his son run after Taylor. Then called out after him.

"Jared!"

The boy stopped and turned.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He pointed to the backpack on the floor.

Vance turned to Gibbs as Jared disappeared round the corner, but it was Jethro who spoke first.

"Should I be worried?"

Vance pulled out another toothpick and grinned. "About a crush?"

"Yeah about a crush." This was his daughter they were talking about after all.

"Relax Gibbs. I know he hasn't stopped talking about her for the past week, but he doesn't have a lot of friends. The other kids tend to pick on him a lot, hence the boxing. I'm sure Taylor's safe!"

Gibbs did not appreciate Vance trying to wind him up. It was time to turn the table on him.

"Oh I know she's safe. I'll make sure of that. Just don't come complaining to me when Jared ends up in some sort of trouble right alongside Taylor."

Leaving Vance to ponder on just what sort of trouble Taylor could land his son in, he went to find the rest of his team.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Over the next couple of days Taylor's dislike of Mr Millar grew at an alarming rate. He hadn't handed her any more detentions, but it wasn't for the want of trying. The man took every opportunity to show her up by asking her questions he thought she wouldn't know the answers to, and when she answered correctly he would turn his attention to Jared. What she really wanted to do was tell him exactly what she thought of him and his school, but knew it would only result in her having to pay for it once she got home. Subtly was called for.

Once Taylor had decided Mr Millar was a legitimate target she began to watch him carefully, looking for anything she could use. Now she had something to aim for, school actually became more bearable and it didn't take Taylor long to come up with a plan. Travelling to and from school with her mom turned out to have its advantages after all. Now all she had to do was convince Jared to help.

Taylor brought up the subject at lunch.

" You ever think about getting even with Millar for being such an asshole?"

Jared swallowed before he answered. "No. Why?"

"A little payback can be good for the soul." She stabbed her juice box with the straw and took a drink, wondering not for the first time, if Jared would have the nerve to prank someone.

"You've already thought of something, haven't you?" He might be shy, but he wasn't stupid.

"Yep." Taylor gave him a small grin. "You in?"

"What are you going to do?"

She shook her head. "Can't tell you unless you're in!"

He thought for a couple of seconds. "Is it dangerous?"

"No." At least he was considering it.

"Illegal?"

"No. Don't be an idiot! It's just a harmless prank. It'll just piss him off." This kid was hard work. Now Jason, he would have signed himself up the moment she mentioned getting even. Still, she wasn't giving up on Jared just yet, he was growing on her. "Come on, you know you want to!"

Jared set his sandwich down, and sighed. He really liked Taylor, and didn't want her to think he was a coward. "What do I have to do?"

Taylor's grin spread right across her face. "Just a bit of shopping. How much money do you have?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 4

Taylor had no idea the twenty seven dollars they'd scraped together would buy so many. She placed all fifteen plastic containers carefully into a large black plastic bag. Now all she had to do was to get them into the trunk of her mom's car without getting caught. Her dad wasn't home yet so she risked leaving the bag at the bottom of the stairs and went to find her mom. She was in the kitchen.

"Mom, where's your car keys? I've left my phone in it."

Patricia lifted the keys off a hook and tossed them to her.

Mission accomplished.

For once Taylor was actually looking forward to school, and as they pulled into the teacher's parking area she knew for certain this was going to work. For a while this morning she had been worried that this would be the day Mr Millar changed his routine, or finally closed his car window properly. Taylor walked right up to the main door of the school building with her mom before stopping abruptly.

"I've left my lunch in the car."

Again Patricia willingly handed over the keys, and Taylor made her way back to the almost empty parking spaces. Her mom had picked the perfect place to park this morning, right beside Mr Millar's car. Taylor wasted no time retrieving the boxes from the trunk, and emptied them one by one, through the three inch gap at the top of the driver's window. When all the boxes were empty Taylor stacked them inside one another and put them back in the plastic bag. It was much smaller now and she intended to dump it in the nearest trash can. Retrieving her lunch, Taylor locked the car and took one last look into Millar's car. He was gonna get a bit of a shock when he left for his daily lunchtime outing.

The morning dragged in, and when lunchtime finally arrived Taylor almost dragged Jared out of the classroom. She wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything. It was a warm sunny day, so there were plenty of other students eating outside, making it easy to blend in. They were however the only two watching eagerly as Mr Millar made his way over to his car. Jared looked as if he was about to throw up.

"Will you relax! There's no way he'll find out who did it, and even if they do, it was me who put them in, not you." There was no more time for reassurance. He'd reached the car now and was putting the key into the lock, but stopped before opening the door.

"WHAT THE HELL?" He was just standing there, staring into the car.

Taylor was certain that outburst would have been heard at the other side of the school. Millar looked absolutely furious. He rotated a full three hundred and sixty degrees, as if he actually thought he could spot the guilty party making a quick getaway.

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?" He roared.

Everyone fell silent. Now they weren't the only two watching. Some of the teaching staff, including her mom emerged from the building and made their way over to him. Slowly the students edged closer, trying to see what the fuss was all about.

Not wanting to draw attention to themselves Taylor and Jared hung back. Taylor waited until the car was surrounded before making a move.

"Come on." She hauled Jared to his feet. "It's going look suspicious if we don't go over. Besides you haven't seen it yet."

As an extra precaution Taylor made straight for her mom. Patricia didn't realise her daughter was beside her until she felt a tug on her sleeve.

'What's going on mom?"

Patricia tore her eyes away from the car. "Mr Millar's car is full of crickets. Hundreds of them."

Taylor pushed in front of her to get a better view, pulling Jared with her. She was watching the boy carefully for his reaction. At first he just watched the crickets bouncing all over the car's interior. It was gonna take Miller quite a while to get rid of them all. At least as long as they'd spent in detention. Then Jared started to smile. For one awful moment Taylor thought he was going to start laughing. He must have been worried too, because he quickly pushed his way out through the rapidly growing audience. Taylor followed him, and he didn't speak until they were a safe distance away. "That's awesome! Those things can really jump."

"Feels good doesn't it?" She asked.

Jared nodded. "He was so angry I thought he was going to have a heart attack."

Taylor laughed. "Yeah, and the way he asked who was responsible, did he actually expect someone to walk up to him when he was that mad and just confess?"

The smile disappeared from Jared's face. "Oh oh, here he comes."

Taylor punched his arm. "Will you stop acting so guilty! Keep talking."

They needn't have worried. Millar ignored them as he stormed past. He wasn't getting any calmer.

When the bell rang Taylor stopped Jared outside the classroom. "You remember what I told you?"

"Never admit anything when there's still a chance you could get away with it." He quoted seriously.

"Good. Just sit back and enjoy watching him trying to figure out who did it. That'll drive him nuts."

Mr Millar paced up and down at the front of the classroom. He hadn't spoken yet and the whole class sat in silence, waiting to see what he would do. Word had spread fast about the incident and even those who hadn't been there to witness it, now knew. He stopped pacing and looked at the clock above the board.

"One hour. No one moves or speaks until the person who put the crickets into my car makes themselves known."

A whole hour staring at the walls was going to be tough, especially when she knew there was going to be no confession. Taylor immediately raised her hand.

"YOU!" He shouted, making a few of the kids jump.

She rolled her eyes. "No, not me. I just want to make sure you know it's a dumb id….. I mean whoever did it might not be in this class." That sounded better.

Unfortunately not to him. Millar stalked towards her and stood a little closer to her than Taylor would have liked.

"Do you always speak your mind Miss Gibbs?"

"I was just sayin'. It doesn't seem very fair that you're pickin' on us."

He spun round when he heard a few murmurs of agreement behind him."

"QUIET!"

Taylor jumped. Maybe she should of kept her mouth shut and suffered willingly through an hour of boredom. This guy was beginning to scare her.

"She does have a point." All eyes turned to Jared. Right now Taylor could have hugged him.

Millar glared at the boy, then addressed the class in a voice that could only be described as threatening. "Anyone else willing to share their opinion, and detention?"

When no one spoke up he gave Taylor and Jared one last warning look before taking his seat at the front, still convinced the guilty party would break under his scrutiny.

The hour dragged in, but every time Taylor felt her temper rising at the indignity of having to sit there like criminals, all she had to do was think about the hundreds of crickets hopping about in the scumbag's car. She was proud of how well the prank had worked out. It was just a pity they couldn't tell anyone about it. Well she could tell Jason, or maybe Vicky the next time she emailed her.

Not surprisingly when the deadline arrived no one had owned up. There wasn't much Mr Millar could do about it though, and Jared and Taylor filed past him smugly on the way out of class at the end of the day, not caring about the detention slips they now carried. From their perspective the whole operation had been a complete success.

Taylor waited for her mom out at the car and was treated to the sight of her teacher trying to capture the crickets. He had a lunchbox in one hand and was trying to sweep them into it, but this only made the crickets jump higher. The man was so engrossed in his task that he didn't notice Taylor pull out her phone and begin to record the action. There was no way she was gonna let Jared miss out on this. When she'd shot enough footage, Taylor leaned casually up against their car and watched him for a few more moments. He was getting nowhere, there must have been all of eight crickets in his box. Her mom was still nowhere in sight and Taylor couldn't resist winding him up a bit more.

"Mr Millar?" He stood up so fast he banged his head on the roof of the car.

"What are you doing here?" He asked accusingly.

"Waitin' for my mom." She nodded towards his car. "Wouldn't it be easier if you opened all the doors and then chased them out?"

Taylor wasn't interested in making his task any easier, but the opportunity to make him appear stupid couldn't be overlooked.

As he thought about what she'd said his face turned a dark shade of red. Maybe she'd pushed him too far. It was time to calm him down a bit.

"Do you want some help?" Taylor offered quickly.

He eyed her suspiciously before finally nodding. "Please."

When Patricia eventually appeared most of the crickets were now in the parking lot. Taylor and Mr Millar were in his car, trying to encourage the last few remaining insects to join the others.

"How's it going Simon?" Patricia opened the trunk to set in a pile of books.

A much calmer Simon replied. "Nearly got them all, thanks to Taylor here."

Taylor climbed out of the car at the mention of her name, and stood beside her mom.

"Did you find out who put them there?"

He shook his head. "No, but I haven't given up yet.

They left him to it, and as they drove out through the main gates Patricia smiled at her daughter. "That was really kind of you to help Mr Millar."

Taylor responded by guiltily sliding down in her seat, and wondered what her dad was gonna say when he found out he'd have to sign another detention slip. Millar hadn't been grateful enough for her help to take that back.

Just in case she ended up being sent to bed early, Taylor didn't hand over the detention slip until it was almost time to go to bed anyway. He gave her one of those 'what did you do this time?' looks and and waited for her to explain.

"I only said it was stupid to make the class sit there for an hour, so he could find out who put the crickets in his car. It might have been someone from another class."

That statement made even less sense than some of the crazy excuses she'd given him on previous occasions. "What crickets?"

She looked towards her mom. "You didn't tell him?"

Taylor tried to appear innocent as her mom related the condensed version of events. When she was done, her dad turned his attention back to her, searching her face for any sign of guilt.

"Did you play any part in this cricket thing?"

Taylor relaxed. This she could answer honestly. "Of course I did." Just when she figured out he was ready to start shouting she added. "I helped him get them out of his car. Didn't I mom?"

Patricia reinforced Taylor's misleading statement and in doing so removed any suspicion that had been heading her way.

"Are you gonna sign it?" Taylor stood impatiently in front of him. She wanted to get up to her room so that she could safely send the footage on her phone to Jared, Jason and Vicky.

Jethro signed the slip and held it out for her to take. "That's two in the space of a week. I don't want to see another one. If I do, it won't just be a signature I give you. You'll be taking a trip over my knee. Do you understand?"

"But dad, all you gotta do is look at him the wrong way and he gets pissed." That was an impossible request.

"Then don't look at him the wrong way, and watch your mouth!" He warned.

Taylor knew he wasn't going to back down, so there was no point hanging about. She glowered at her father. "Fine. I'm goin' to bed."

Turning to leave the room Taylor was already trying to figure out how to avoid her dad finding out if she did end up with another detention. It looked as if she was going to have to practice his signature again. As for her mom, she could always spin her a line about wanting to do her homework in the library, Taylor was certain she wouldn't mind staying late, it would give her the opportunity to catch up on her marking or something.

It was if her dad could read her mind, and called out after her. "Don't go getting any ideas about signing the next one yourself. Don't forget if you get three detentions it means both your mom and myself have to meet with your teacher."

That really irked her, so true to form her mouth went into overdrive. "How many do I need to get kicked out?"

Taylor quickly stepped away, hands flying back to cover her backside, as her father got to his feet. "What? I just wanna make sure it doesn't happen. You don't have to get mad!"

"Oh, you'd better make sure it doesn't happen!"

He was kinda intimidating, towering over her, arms folded, with that glare of his locked onto her. Taylor wasted no time in replying. "It won't, I swear!"

Her father must have believed her, because when he spoke again it was only one word. "Bed."

Carefully backing away from him, Taylor didn't turn until she was well out of swatting range, then hightailed it up to her room before her mouth landed her in more trouble. It looked as if she was going to have to learn to behave, fast!


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do now own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 5

"Does he always give out this much homework, or does he just wanna piss me off?" Taylor was not happy. It had been a long and difficult day. Paying attention and trying not to annoy Millar was a real pain in the butt, although it was better than the alternative. She was avoiding any potential detention like the plague. Jared sat beside her on the wall, he was waiting for his mom to pick him and his sister up. Taylor was there to keep him company.

"It's not usually this much, I think he's still angry about the crickets." Jared replied.

"Doesn't surprise me he's takin' it out on us. He wants everyone to be just as miserable as he is." She grumbled.

Then Taylor had a brainwave. It was something she would never have been able to try with Jason because they weren't in the same class. But now ….

"What we should really do is take turns."

Jared looked at her, not sure what she was talking about. "What do you mean take turns?"

"You know, I do it one night, and you do it the next. What's the point in both of us wasting time?"

"Isn't that cheating?" It sounded like a good idea, but it couldn't be right.

"Only if we get caught." She looked at him pleadingly. "Come on, half the amount of homework! Think of how much time we'd save!"

Jason checked his watch, in the hope that his mom, or Kayla would show up before he had to answer. He found it extremely difficult to say 'no' to Taylor and didn't want to disappoint her, but his dad would go nuts if he found out he had cheated. Unfortunately Taylor interpreted his silence as a yes, and she handed him her question sheets. "You can go first, and I'll do it tomorrow."

Instead of refusing, Jared said nothing, and slipped her homework into his bag, trying to convince himself that it just might be a good idea.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

To say that Taylor was in a bad mood was an understatement. It was Monday morning and that meant five whole days of school in front of her. It had been a great weekend. She'd gone to the movies with her mom and dad, and the rest of her time had been spent hanging out with Jared and Jason. Jared was actually coming out of his shell, and hidden behind that shy exterior was a wicked sense of humour. Now it was over, and Taylor sulked at the table as she tried to force down her RiceKrispies.

"You're very quiet, should I be worried?" Jethro had been studying his daughter from the opposite side of the table.

She shrugged. "Depends. How mad would you be if I didn't go to school today?" Not that she was going to cut school, but there was nothing wrong with toying with the idea.

He frowned at her. "You already know the answer to that."

Taylor nodded towards the window. "But look how nice it is out there."

"Doesn't matter how nice it is. Trust me, it wouldn't be worth it!"

She pouted. "Don't wanna go! How am I supposed to concentrate when I'm wastin' a whole day stuck in a classroom?" Giving up on her cereal she pushed the bowl away and stood up. "I'm gonna wait in the drive, at least I might get to see Jason for a couple of minutes."

Taylor had almost reached the door when her dad called out a warning.

"You'd better be out there waiting when your mom's ready to leave."

She didn't answer, just closed the door behind her with a little more force than was necessary.

Jason wasn't there so Taylor sat on the front step and worked herself up into an even worse mood. If she had of been allowed to stay at her old school, while her mom taught in the new one, this would have been the perfect day to disappear off the radar with Jason. In fact he was probably gonna do exactly that, only with someone else. That thought only pissed her off more. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her dad looking through the window, checking to make sure she was still there. Taylor ignored him. I mean, where the hell did her think she could go, dressed like this? It was gonna be one of those days that really sucked.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

She was right. It did suck. What sort of a person asks for a six hundred word essay first thing on a Monday morning? Mr Millar, that's who, although Taylor had thought of plenty of other names to call him after he'd told them what he wanted them to do. She glowered at him as he powered up his computer. He wasn't fooling her, she knew he just wanted to keep them busy while he surfed. Well if he wanted six hundred words, he could have them. Chewing on the top of her pencil Taylor thought about what she could write about. Decision made, she put pencil to paper, and had absolutely no difficulty meeting the length requirement, even managing to finish well before any of the others. Mission accomplished, she spent the rest of the time staring longingly out of the window, wondering what Jason was up to.

Millar stopped Taylor leaving when the lunch bell rang. Letting out a bored sigh she dropped back into her seat again and waited to see what his problem was. He set her essay down on the desk in front of her.

"Do you think that's clever?" He asked.

Taylor shrugged. "What's wrong with it? There's no spelling mistakes and it's long enough."

Lifting the sheet of paper he started to read. " The ceiling light flickered on, off, on, off, on, off, on, off, on, off … Do I need to go on?"

"Well I did like the final 'on, off.' It was very dramatic." She replied sarcastically.

"You can do it properly tonight, and hand it in tomorrow." He told her, not rising to the bait.

There was no way Taylor was going to take that lying down. "Don't think so, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Are you so eager to spend another afternoon in detention?"

Okay, that didn't sound good. Taylor sat up a little straighter, racking her brain for a way out. There was only one she could think of.

"You ever heard of YouTube?" This was a long shot.

"Of course I have. What's that got to do with anything?"

Taylor searched through her bag to find her phone, then quickly scrolled through the photos to find the video of Millar trying to catch the crickets. Making sure she held it out of reach, she hit play. "It would be real easy to post this. Be kinda embarrassing though, for you."

Mr Millar didn't speak for the longest time, and Taylor was beginning to think it hadn't been the smartest move she'd ever made, until he sighed and walked away from her.

"If that's the way you want to play it Miss Gibbs, so be it." He nodded towards the door. "Go have your lunch."

Taylor almost floated out of the classroom, bad mood gone. She couldn't believe that had actually worked, and it meant there was no way she'd be getting any detentions between now and the end of term. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad day after all.

When Taylor related what had happened to Jared he was awestruck. It wasn't just that it had worked that impressed him, it was the fact that she had actually had the nerve to even try it. Taylor definitely made school more interesting.

Millar didn't ask Taylor a single question all afternoon, and didn't seem to be the least bit interested she wasn't paying attention. He didn't speak to her until everyone was packing up to leave at the end of the day, when he approached both Taylor and Jared and asked them to stay behind. Taylor was unconcerned , considering her newly discovered invulnerability. Jared on the other hand was worried and as soon as their teacher left the room he bombarded Taylor with questions as he tried to figure out what was going on. The only thing he could think of was their homework scam, but that seemed to have been working well. The first time they'd handed the work in, he had been terrified that Mr Millar would instantly figure out what they were doing, but he hadn't, so they had been using the system for over a week now.

After about twenty minutes Taylor decided she'd wasted enough time. Lifting her bag she made a move towards the door, only to be stopped in her tracks by the sight of five people now filing in through the door. Millar she's expected, but Jared's parents, and her own mom and dad, well that came as a bit of a shock.

Retreating quickly, Taylor sat down beside Jared again, wishing that she'd left ten minutes earlier, and tried not to make eye contact with her parents. As she stared intently at her hands Taylor could hear chairs being pulled out from neighbouring desks, then silence.

Mr Millar spoke first, addressing them both. "Were you two responsible for the prank with the crickets?"

Taylor was shocked into silence, acutely aware that everyone was watching her. That was not one of the questions she had been expecting. She glanced at Jared, who looked as if he was about to start crying, or even worse, own up. Taylor glared at the man and drummed her fingers on the wooden desktop.

When it was obvious neither were going to answer, Patricia tried. "Did you put the crickets into the car Taylor?" Although it was her mom who spoke, it was her dad's eyes she felt, trying to bore through her.

"That was weeks ago!" Taylor was pissed. There was no way they could know for sure what they'd done.

"What difference does that make? I asked you a question, now answer it!" Patricia sounded just as angry as she did.

"I'm not answering any questions until you show me some evidence."

Jethro stood up and took a hold of his daughter's arm, then turned towards Mr Millar. "Would you excuse us for a few minutes?" Not waiting for a reply he escorted Taylor, none too gently out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind them Taylor tried to pull free, but her dad just ignored her struggles and she soon found herself standing in another classroom.

"Right, I want answers. Honest ones. Crickets, yes or no?"

Taylor was getting scared. Her dad looked beyond furious, but she didn't want to answer that question, or any of the others she knew would follow. Why the hell did he have to stand between her and the door?

"You want to do this the hard way then." Obviously her time was up, and he reached out for her.

She stepped back.

"Yes."

"What about your homework?"

"What about it? I hand it in don't I?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" He ground out.

Now she felt the way Jared did. "Alright. We take turns."

He folded his arms and looked down at her. "I'll need more than that."

"There isn't more. I do it one night, Jared does the next. It's good time management."

"It's cheating!" He growled.

Taylor made a move to go around him to reach the door, but her father put out his hand and stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I just answered your questions." Taylor protested. She was feeling trapped now, and was seconds away from total meltdown.

"Do you have any idea just how angry I am with you right now?"

Something snapped in Taylor, and she started to yell. "No. Do you have any idea just how pissed off I am with all these dumb questions right now? Why does everything have to be such a big f****ng deal? Go to school! Wear your uniform! Listen to someone talk about something no one gives a shit about! If that's not bad enough I gotta waste more time when I get home! So if I can find an easy way around it, I'm gonna make sure I f****ng take it. And if you don't like it you can just stick it where the sun don't shine. Now get the f**k out of my way!" Taylor was breathing hard by the time she'd finished, but the red mist wasn't clearing and her father wasn't moving. Not willing to wait any longer she directed all her energy into trying to shove him out of the way. It had absolutely no effect whatsoever. Taylor didn't think anything could make her any madder right now, but that did. She tried again. Still nothing. Out of sheer frustration Taylor drew her foot back and aimed for his shin, but before she had the chance to make contact Taylor found herself lifted into the air by the scruff.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 6

"Put me down!" Taylor ordered as she struggled to break free. Her dad complied, but instead of setting her on the floor he sat down on a desk and dumped her across his lap. She heard the smack before she felt it, but had no time to protest before another one echoed throughout the classroom. Taylor's temper receded with every stinging swat, until she stopped fighting and started to cry.

He stopped spanking. "Are you done with the tantrum?"

"Yes." Taylor managed to get out. She tried to ignore the sting in her butt, and push herself up, but her dad's hand on her back kept her down. "Dad?" She glanced over her shoulder to see what he was doing. Then instantly regretted it. He looked absolutely furious, and it was only at this point she remembered just exactly what she'd said during her little outburst. Taylor realised he wasn't done yet, and panicked. It was bad enough he was probably about to go nuclear on her backside, but here? She renewed her efforts to escape. "I didn't mean it! I lost my temper. I'm sorry!"

"You're gonna be!" He growled, holding her tight enough to stop her falling off his lap. "Stop fighting me Taylor. You're already up to your neck in trouble. Do you want to make it worse?"

Taylor stilled at the threat. "Not here dad, please! Everyone's gonna hear!"

It wasn't working, she heard the swish as the belt slipped through the loops on his pants.

"You didn't seem too concerned when you were shouting the odds a few minutes ago. You think they didn't hear that?"

"I'm sor…OW!" Taylor clamped her mouth tightly shut, not wanting to give Millar the satisfaction of hearing her getting her ass whipped. She couldn't stop herself from crying though, each lick burned like hell.

It felt like forever before Taylor was standing in front of her father again, trying to control her sobs as he replaced his belt.

"You ever speak to me like that again, or try and kick me, what you just got will feel like nothing." He stopped her reaching back to rub, then handed her a tissue. "We're going back in a minute, and you're going to answer anything you're asked. Truthfully! If you try to avoid answering, or if I detect even the trace of a lie, we'll be doing this again, only I won't bother taking you out of the room first. Got it?" His patience was long gone.

Taylor nodded, Right now she'd agree to anything.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

As soon as Jethro and Taylor left the room Leon was on his feet and in front of his son.

"Mr Millar asked you a question. Answer him Jared."

Jared didn't know what to do. On one hand his father was angrier than he'd ever seen him before, but on the other, it didn't look as if Taylor was going to admit to anything, not yet anyway. He was not going to be the one to land her in it. Taking a deep breath to build up some courage he looked up at his dad.

"No."

That was the first time he'd ever openly defied his father and he watched as the anger was quickly replaced by rage. Leon pulled the boy off his chair and smacked his backside hard, twice, before sitting him down again. Jared tried unsuccessfully to blink his tears away. His dad hardly ever had to spank him, and never in front of anyone else. He stared at his desk, embarrassed.

Just about to repeat the question Leon was interrupted by Taylor's shouts filtering through from the adjoining classroom. He tried to ignore what was happening nest door and turned his attention back to Jared.

"The prank, was it you and Taylor?" This time he was certain he would get an answer.

After the swats Jared had almost been ready to confess, but now he could hear Taylor putting up a fight, he would have to do the same.

"I can't answer that. Rule number one."

Inside his head, Vance swore. That was definitely a 'Gibbs' thing. "What's rule number one?"

Jared shook his head. "Rule number two, never tell anyone what rule number one is."

Again Jared found himself being swatted and dropped onto an increasingly stinging butt.

The sounds coming from the other classroom changed dramatically. Taylor's shouts had been replaced by loud smacks, and Jared realised Taylor couldn't hold out for much longer. This was not going to end well. He was going to have to talk.

"It was us, but it was only a dumb prank." He mumbled, feeling guilty, not because of what they'd done, but for admitting it. Then looked at Mr Millar. "I'm sorry."

Leon took a seat on one of the desks, and waited for the other delinquent to return. They weren't finished yet, not by a long shot.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

A very red-eyed Taylor found herself deposited on her chair again, and although her backside screamed at her to stand up, she stayed seated. She risked a quick glance at Jared. He'd been crying too.

"Taylor has something she'd like to say to you." Gibbs informed her teacher.

Swallowing what was left of her pride, Taylor looked up at Mr Millar. "I'm sorry I put the crickets in the car."

He nodded. "Would the pair of you like to explain what's been going on with your homework?"

Jared and Taylor looked at each other before Taylor spoke. "We take turns."

Millar moved to stand in front of them. "You do realise that's cheating?"

Not sure if that was an actual question Taylor stayed silent. Until her dad stood up, then she answered quickly. "Yes."

Jared followed Taylor's example. "Yes."

Leaning on the desk directly in front of them Millar looked at their parents before pronouncing sentence.

"We've already discussed what your punishments are going to be. You're going to re-do all the homework assignments you cheated on."

That didn't sound too bad to Taylor or Jared.

"On top of that, there's just over three weeks left until the end of the school year, both of you will be in detention until then. You're lucky the pair of you aren't suspended."

"Three whole weeks?" Taylor began to protest. You've gotta be….." She shut up when her dad got to his feet and reached for his belt.

"Do you have a problem with that Taylor?" Millar asked.

There was only one answer she could give. "No."

'Jared, you can go home now." Millar shook hands with both Leon and Jacky, and as Taylor watched her friend leave, she clearly heard Vance tell his son that this wasn't over, and when they got home Jared was going to find out what his belt felt like.

What about me?" Taylor wanted out of here too, and her butt was still making sitting extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh, we're not done with you yet." Patricia informed her, as she placed her daughter's attempt at an essay in front of her. Taylor could feel the blood draining from her face. Millar had told them everything.

"We'll start with your attitude to your school work. Don't even try to tell me that you think this is acceptable. Why'd you do it Taylor? With everything you've been up to it looks as if you're trying your hardest to get yourself expelled. Is that what you want?

Taylor looked up at her mom. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind, well maybe at the start, but this place wasn't so bad, now she had Jared to keep her company. "No."

Patricia's expression told her that she didn't believe her."

"I don't, I swear!" She protested.

"Then why?"

Taylor stared at her desk. "I just didn't want to go to school today, and I was angry because I knew I'd never get away with cutting." She looked guiltily over to where her dad was standing. "It all just sort of spiralled out of control."

"You mean when you tried to blackmail your teacher?" Jethro asked as he moved closer to her.

Taylor glanced at Millar before she answered. "Yeah."

"Didn't we have a problem with you posting humiliating videos on the internet before?"

Taylor avoided looking up at him. "I didn't post it."

'You threatened to!" He was close to losing it.

Again Taylor was aware of his hand hovering over his belt buckle. "Sorry."

"You're apologising to the wrong person."

She tried not to glare at Mr Millar. "Sorry." Then stared at the hand her dad was holding out to her, not sure what he wanted.

"Phone."

"But I need it. What if I'm out and have to call you?"

"I wouldn't worry about that, you're not going need it for a long time."

Reluctantly Taylor reached into her bag for her iPhone and placed it onto his outstretched hand.

"Blackmail is extremely serious Taylor, and strictly speaking you should at least be suspended." Mr Millar informed her.

That didn't exactly seem unappealing to Taylor.

"However, on this occasion your father has assured me he'll take care of the matter."

'F***' was the first word that sprung into Taylor's mind. He was gonna kill her.

Now Millar looked smug, but he wasn't done yet. "You'll also be required to attend Saturday morning detentions, until the end of term."

Saturday detentions? She had no idea they even existed, what sort of sick b****** had thought of that?

"If however you try and pull the same stunt again, it WILL be dealt with officially." He warned.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, probably to say something she'd regret, her dad pulled her up, and she wisely closed it again.

"Go wait in the hallway, and stay in front of the window where I can see you."

Now Taylor was finally getting out of here, going home was the last thing she wanted to do. Her ass still throbbed painfully as she leant up against the wall and watched her parents talk to Mr Millar. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, she was certain they were apologising again, on her behalf.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor didn't want to see how angry her mom and dad were. She was already fighting the urge to start crying, so she walked just in front of them towards the main door. As soon as they stepped outside, her father put his hand on her shoulder to stop her, then turned Taylor round to face him.

"I have to go back to work now. When I get back later, I'll expect you to have your homework and essay done, and don't give your mom a hard time either. We have enough to deal with tonight, without you making it any worse."

All Taylor could think when he was speaking was 'shit he looks pissed!' But nodded when he'd finished.

Giving his wife a peck on the cheek he headed off to where his car was parked, leaving behind one extremely nervous daughter.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 7**

The drive home was completely silent with not even the radio on to distract Taylor from worrying about what was gonna happen when her dad got home. Her mom only spoke when they pulled up at the house, instructing her to change into her pyjamas (This seemed to be their favourite method now to stop her going AWOL), and then bring her work down to the kitchen table.

Taylor sat down quietly at the table, watching her mom warily. The kitchen wasn't the safest place to be when her mom was angry with her. Patricia glanced up, but then went back to her marking. Taylor started writing, but the silence was unsettling and it was beginning to scare her. At least when her dad was mad at her he always made it perfectly clear what he was thinking, and how he felt about what she'd done, even though it always involved a lot of shouting. It was probably a bad move, but Taylor had to ask.

"Aren't you gonna say something?"

Patricia set down her red pen and looked at her daughter.

"I thought I'd let you finish your homework and essay first. Your dad's not going to be very happy if he comes home and you haven't finished."

"Oh." That made sense. Taylor started writing again, but she was nervous and found it difficult to concentrate. "I can't remember how to do this."

"You want some help?" Patricia asked without looking up.

"Yes please." Taylor figured being polite might make things a little better.

Patricia moved round to sit beside her. It didn't take long for her mom to explain where she'd been going wrong and before she knew it she'd started on her essay. This time it was easy, all she had to do was remember one she'd already written at her old school. Pity she hadn't thought of that earlier today, the whole mess she was in now could have been avoided.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Taylor picked her way through her dinner, trying to drag it out.

Her mom had been watching her carefully. "Not hungry?" That was something that didn't happen very often.

"He's gonna kill me, isn't he?" Taylor didn't look up, instead she pushed a bit of broccoli around the plate with her fork.

"That's a bit overdramatic. He's not going to kill you, but you can't blame him for being angry. You have no idea how close you came to being expelled today."

"Sorry." She was saying that a lot today.

"Are you?"

"Well maybe not about the prank, or the essay, but the blackmail thing, yeah. It's not as if I planned it."

"So why'd you do it then?" Her mom asked.

"He got angry about the essay. That man has no sense of humour!"

Patricia raised an eyebrow, but waited for her to continue.

"He was gonna give me a detention, just for that, and you know what dad said would happen if I got another one. So I said the first thing I could think of to get out of it. Didn't exactly work though." Taylor admitted sheepishly.

"What about the cheating? Did you even think about how much trouble you'd be getting Jared into? I assume it was your idea."

Taylor had forgotten about the homework thing. "Well I didn't think we'd get caught. How'd he figure it out anyway?"  
"You're the only one in the whole class who crosses their sevens Taylor, and just because you thought you'd get away with it doesn't make it right. Don't even try to convince me otherwise!"

Looking back down at her plate Taylor didn't try to deny it.

"As for the tantrum you treated everyone to, how could you speak to your father like that?"

Taylor's head snapped up. "You heard what I said?" That meant they'd heard her dad belting her too. Crap!

"Every last word." Patricia realised what her daughter was worried about. "You needn't feel sorry for yourself because everyone heard you being punished. You deserved every lick!"

Taylor glared at her, but kept her mouth shut. Her butt was still tender without pushing her mom to the point where she'd reach for the wooden spoon.

Pushing her plate away Taylor stood up. Perhaps it would be safer if she went upstairs before she lost her temper again.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't I have to wait in my room?" That was the standard procedure.

Patricia thought about it for a couple of seconds before nodding. She didn't want another full scale war breaking out either, and watched as Taylor made her way slowly towards the stairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Jared sat in the back seat of the car beside his sister.

"What'd you do?" She whispered.

Not answering, he tried to ignore her.

Kayla could see the expression on her dad's face from where she was sitting. "It must have been really bad! You gonna get spanked?"

Jared glared at her. "Will you shut up!" He told her in an angry whisper, but that only made her grin smugly.

"You are, aren't you?"

Angry now, Jared reached over and pinched her, causing her to cry out. "I told you to shut up!"

Jacky turned round in her seat, giving both a warning look. "That's enough!"

Giving her brother a final dirty look, Kayla turned to stare out of her window, leaving Jared to contemplate just how much trouble he was in.

He didn't have to wait long to find out. As soon as they arrived home his father sent him up to his room, following close behind. Jared swallowed hard when his dad closed the bedroom door behind him, and began to speak.

"Sit down." Leon pointed to the bed and waited until his son obeyed. "I don't think I've ever been so angry or disappointed in your behaviour as I am now."

Jared dropped his eyes and stared at his shoes.

"I know you were only trying to protect Taylor, but when I ask you a question I damn well expect you to answer it! Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." He mumbled.

"I didn't quite hear that, and look at me when you're speaking!"

Jared looked up at his father. "Yes sir." He was certain he'd never seen his dad look so angry before.

Vance nodded. "Exactly what was your involvement in the prank?"

Scared now, he had no problem answering. " I helped buy the crickets."

"That's all? You didn't play any part of the video or blackmail?"

"No sir." If Jared could put money on it he would bet his sister was listening through the adjoining wall.

Leon believed him and moved onto the more serious of his son's crimes. "How did you ever come to the conclusion that it was alright to cheat?"

Jared shrugged, he was not going to admit it was Taylor's idea, no matter what his dad said or did.

"What did I just tell you about answering a question when I ask?"

"I don't know what to say. It seemed like a good idea at the time." He really did feel bad about cheating, and had known it was wrong.

"Why? You've never had problems with your schoolwork before. What's changed?" Leon was hoping for some sort of reasonable explanation that would justify his son's actions.

"Just seemed like a waste of time, both of us doing the same thing, at the same time." That was the only answer he was going to give.

Jared watched in horror as his dad's expression became even angrier.

"Not only are you in detention until the end of the school year, but you're also grounded."

Jared shrugged again, trying to put on a brave face. That didn't really make a lot of difference to him. Taylor was bound to be in the same boat.

Leon unbuckled his belt, and Jared's bravery vanished.

"Stand up and lean over the bed." He ordered.

His son just stared at him, unable to move.

"Now Jared!"

Slowly he did as he was told. Burying his face in the quilt Jared cried from the first smack. His dad had only ever used his hand before, and it felt nothing like this.

After about eight licks, Leon paused. "Are you going to cheat again?"

Jared shook his head and let out a muffled "No."

Leon landed another four swats, making it an even dozen.

"You're sure about that?"

"I'm sure. I won't."

Sitting down beside his son he gently rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. "You know, I'm really pleased you've found yourself a friend." Even if it is a Gibbs he thought. "But I know you're smart enough to keep yourself out of trouble, and I'm sure Taylor's not going to stop liking you if you try and talk her out of doing something stupid. I'm positive that right now she wishes you had."

Jared pushed himself up, and stood in front of his father. "I'm sorry."

"I know." Standing up he gave Jared a quick hug, before lifting his belt off the bed and turning towards the door. "You might want to make a start on your homework, you'll be going to bed straight after dinner."

"Yes sir." Jared reached for his backpack, and hoped that Taylor was still in one piece.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor stood at her bedroom window watching the torrential rain forming giant puddles in the front yard. It was already half past eight and there was still no sign of her dad. She had her fingers crossed, hoping he wouldn't get home until after she was in bed. Taylor was dreading the upcoming confrontation, especially after what had happened at school. She very much doubted he would be any less angry with her, and although her butt was only a little sore now, it was a dead cert that it would be hurting like hell by the time he got through with her. On top of that she was going to have to face Millar tomorrow, and he would know exactly why she would have a problem trying to sit still. That thought just reminded her that he'd already heard her getting walloped. This had to be her worse day ever. Maybe Abby would let her come live with her, that way she could avoid her dad, and go back to her old school. Taylor was trying to figure out just how feasible that would be when the room lit up.

Before the rumble of thunder hit, Taylor was down the stairs and had thrown herself onto the couch beside her mom. "I think I'll wait down here instead." She managed to get out, just before the room was filled with a gentle rumble. The storm was still some distance away, but Taylor wasn't taking any chances.

Patricia fought the urge to grin, and put her arm around her nervous daughter. Taylor was trembling, so she started talking to try and distract her. "You seem to be getting on really well with Jared."

"I like him, he's funny." Taylor was anxiously anticipating the next lightening flash.

"You know he wouldn't tell his dad anything, said he couldn't say anything because of rule number one."

"He said that?" Taylor sounded both surprised and pleased.

The room lit up again, and Taylor tensed.

"Are you going to tell me what rule number one is?" Patricia asked.

Taylor shook her head and moved even closer to her mom, waiting for the thunder she knew would follow. "I can't."

"Let me guess. Rule number two."

"Uh huh." The thunder rolled again. It was getting closer.

Patricia ignored the rumble. "So you're making up rules like your dad?"

"Yeah, but we've only got two so far, dad's got loads."

"I've got loads of what?" Gibbs appeared in the doorway, water dripping from his hair and jacket. The thunder had drowned out the noise of the car pulling up.

Taylor's mouth suddenly went dry, so her mom answered. "Rules."

"Going by today, I don't have enough!" He glared at his daughter. "I'm going to get dried off, and changed. If he said anything else, Taylor couldn't hear it over another peel of thunder, and when she opened her eyes again he was gone.

"He still looks mad mom." Taylor whispered.

"Now you can't be surprised by that, you really screwed up."

"But I…" Taylor didn't get the chance to finish. Her dad was back. He had changed into a pair of jeans and an NCIS t-shirt.

"Come on Taylor, let's get this over with."

Very reluctantly Taylor left the safety her mom provided and followed her father upstairs. They had just reached the top when there was an extremely loud thunder clap, and Taylor almost knocked her dad over in an attempt to get closer to him. Jethro took her hand and led her into her bedroom.

"It's just not your day is it?"

Taylor shook her head and sat down on the bed. "I am sorry you know."

He didn't seem impressed by her apology. "You almost got kicked out of school today."

"I know, but I didn't do it on purpose." Surely that had to count for something, she thought again.

It didn't. Her father looked disappointed. "I never thought you'd resort to cheating or blackmail. For heaven's sake Taylor, what were you thinking?"

Hanging her head Taylor mumbled. "I already told you about the homework thing, we were just saving time."

"It's cheating!" He roared, almost as loudly as the thunder that immediately followed.

Taylor cringed. "Well I think I've got that now."

"What about the blackmail, did you really expect that to work?"

"He was gonna give me another detention, it was the only way I could think of to get out of it! Besides, I wasn't actually gonna put it on YouTube."

"You threatened your teacher!" He yelled.

"So! He threatens me all the time!"

Jethro was trying hard not to completely lose it. "You know it's not the same thing."

Taylor did know, so there was no point arguing. "I'm sorry."

"You realise you're grounded until your detentions finish, don't you?"

"Figured." Taylor looked at the floor. She might have known it was going to happen, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"On your feet." Jethro ordered, as he turned to lift the strap off the desk, where he'd left it earlier.

Taylor stared at the wicked strip of leather in her father's hand, and forced herself not to run. Not that she could go anywhere in the middle of a thunderstorm. "That's….."

"Uh huh."

"You stole it!" Taylor accused, more shocked that it was here, rather than the fact he was actually going to use it.

Jethro propped his left leg up on the bed frame. "I didn't steal it, your grandpa knows I have it."

He held out his hand for Taylor to take. At first he thought he was going to have to drag her over, but another clap of thunder and her hand was in his. Lifting her over his leg he quickly pulled her pyjama pants and shorts down. Not because he wanted it to hurt more, but he wanted to make sure he didn't want the licks to overlap. Taylor gave a small groan, but didn't try to get up.

The intensity of the first stroke made her gasp, and the second had her crying out. Now she did start to struggle, but to no avail. The entire spanking must have lasted less than a minute, and had only consisted of six swats in total, but Taylor didn't think her dad had missed a single inch of her backside. When her father pulled her pants back up and set her on her feet the blaze in her butt intensified and made her cry harder.

The thunderstorm was almost overhead now, and the next rumble sent Taylor, not into her dad's arms but under her quilt, throbbing backside momentarily forgotten about.

Jethro shook his head. "Slide over a bit."

Taylor shuffled over to give her dad enough room to stretch out beside her. Propping himself up against the headboard he lifted the duvet a little. She was still crying, into the mattress, so he gently stroked the side of her face.

"You want me to stay until the storm's over?"

Taylor nodded, before pulling the cover over her head again. Tomorrow had better be a hell of a lot better than today.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 8**

Patricia watched Taylor suspiciously at breakfast. After yesterday's events she had expected their daughter to at least be a little upset about going to school today. Granted it was obvious from the way she was squirming on her seat that her backside was still sore, but other than that, absolutely nothing! It was making her nervous.

Jethro was thinking along the same lines. "What are you up to?"

Taylor set down the crust of her toast, and smiled innocently at her dad. "Who me?"

"Yes, you."

"Nothin'" Taylor gave her best innocent look.

He wasn't buying it, and set his coffee down. "You sure about that?"

"Uh huh."

"You're not planning on going AWOL?"

Taylor giggled and moved round the table to stand behind her father. "No." Throwing her arms around him she quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Come on mom, we don't want to be late."

"Okay, that's it!" Gibbs stood up and put a finger under Taylor's chin, tipping her head up so he could check her eyes. "Are you high?"

Taylor tutted. "It's a bit early for that..." Her father raised a questioning eyebrow. "I mean no, of course not! I thought you wanted me to be good!"

"I do."

Sometimes it could be a lot of fun just messing with his head. "So what's wrong with not wanting to be late? We have history today, and I like history."

Jethro was stunned. "Nothing." He gave up and kissed the top of her head.

Patricia, just as confused, lifted her car keys. "Come on then, seeing you're so keen."

"Bye dad." Taylor called out as she followed her mom to the car.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It wasn't that Taylor actually wanted to go to school, although she did sorta like history. This morning when she'd woken up, ass still throbbing painfully, Taylor had decided that she wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of thinking she was whipped, even though technically she had been. It had also struck her as she stood in the shower, that she no longer had to worry about getting into trouble at school, for the little things anyway. It was impossible for Millar to give her any more detentions, she was already booked into all of them. Taylor still wanted revenge though, and the best and safest way to do that was to bide her time. Behave herself perfectly, both at home and at school, lulling everyone into a false sense of security, and use her time in detention to come up with the perfect plan. Then just when school was almost over for the summer, she'd strike. Millar wouldn't know what had hit him.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Jared was already in the classroom when Taylor appeared, but instead of going over to him she headed straight to Mr Millar.

She looked right at him before speaking. "I'm sorry for the prank I played on you, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry I said I was going to put the video onto the internet, I didn't mean it. Sometimes I say things without thinking about it."

Mr Millar had not been expecting that. "Did your father tell you to apologise to me?"

Taylor shook her head. "No sir. I know I was wrong, and I really am sorry."

She didn't wait for him to say anything else, and went to take her seat. That would be the hardest part. Removing her books and pencil from her bag she set them on the desk. Lowering herself down gingerly, gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the pain from the welts on her backside, and sat perfectly still, waiting for the lesson to begin.

Jared had been quiet and well behaved throughout the morning as well, but Taylor figured his reasons were not the quite the same as hers. At least he didn't seem to be ignoring her. Taylor's biggest fear now was that Director Vance had forbidden Jared to hang out with her any more. She would have to wait until recess to find that out.

During class Taylor did everything she could think of to convince Millar she was a reformed character. She was quiet, attentive, and was the first to raise her hand when a question was asked. Taylor was actually enjoying herself. Mr Millar seemed surprised, especially when she was giving the correct answers. Before he'd targeted her because he knew she hadn't been listening, but now he was going to have to find someone else to pick on. It definitely made the day more interesting, and pass a lot faster than normal.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

At recess Jared followed Taylor out to their favourite spot under one of the large trees in the grounds, and sat down.

"Your dad didn't tell you to stay away from me then?" Taylor took a bite of her apple.

Jared shook his head. "Just said we had to stay out of trouble."

"Huh! I thought he'd be a bigger pain in the ass!" Then realised she'd just insulted his dad. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Jared grinned. "It's okay, I know what you meant. He was mad though."

"Bet he wasn't as mad as mine." Taylor shifted uncomfortably on the ground.

"He spanked you again?" Jared seemed surprised.

"Oh yeah, he likes to get his message across."

"And did he?"

"F**k no!" Taylor lied, and gave Jared a friendly shove. "Gonna have to watch what I do for a while, but I'm gonna get even with Millar, eventually. You know the b****rd gave me Saturday detentions on top of everything else."

"That why you've been sucking up to him all day?" He teased.

"All part of my master plan." She bragged.

"You have a plan?" Jared was impressed.

"Not yet, but there's plenty of time."

"Yeah, well just make sure it doesn't involve getting us caught this time."

Taylor liked the 'us'. "You can be in charge of that part then. That's where I always seem to screw up. Deal?" She held out her hand for Jared to shake.

He only hesitated for a second before taking her hand. "Deal."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

As soon as Taylor arrived home, she had her homework out without having to be told and set up at the kitchen table, where her mom could witness her new studious attitude. Then as soon as she was done, instead of crashing in front of the TV, Taylor offered to help with dinner. Her mom looked at her in disbelief, but accepted her offer.

Jethro arrived just as they had finished. He watched the pair of them setting the table. Taylor spotted him before he had the chance to speak and threw herself at him for a hug.

"Catch any bad guys today?" She asked.

"Nope, not today."

"Losing your touch, huh?" Taylor wriggled away from him as her dad started to tickle her.

Jethro shot a questioning look at his wife, but she just shrugged.

"So how was school?"

Taylor grinned. "It was good. We learned all about the Civil War. That's the one you were in, right?"

He gave her a mock glare. "No I was not! Now go get washed up before dinner.

As soon as his daughter left the kitchen he sat down at the table. "Am I stuck in some sort of parallel universe?"

Patricia shrugged for the second time that day. "I have no idea what's going on. Her teacher came to see me when school was out, and did nothing but sing her praises. Apparently she even apologised to him again this morning. Do you think the strapping you gave her was a wake up call?"

"I really hope so, because I don't want to have to do it again, but... I don't know. She's acting so completely out of character. "

"Well you can't exactly complain about the way she's behaving."

"I know, but it'll be interesting to see just how long she can keep it up for." Jethro was positive the old Taylor would be back soon.

x

Taylor had a hard time trying not to break out into a fit of giggles during dinner. She was acutely aware both of her parents were trying to watch her, without her noticing. It was pretty clear they were trying to figure out what was going on, and were confused by her behaviour. It had been a successful day and she had one more thing to do, to round everything off.

The three of them had been chilling out in the living room, watching some cop show. Taylor had been keeping a close eye on the clock, and as soon as the hands showed nine fifteen, she stood up, kissed her mom and dad, before telling them she was going to bed. As Taylor climbed the stairs she wished she could hear what they were saying. Going to bed early was definitely going to throw them. This was sooooo much fun.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It wasn't hard to keep up her act, although when Saturday morning came around, Taylor found it difficult to find any enthusiasm, but that was only because she was going to miss her weekly visit with Dorothy.

As her mom drove her to school, Taylor admitted what she was worrying about.

"Mom, I'm gonna miss Dorothy today, and for the next few weeks."

Patricia glanced at her. She knew the pair had grown close. " How about we invite her for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah?" Taylor relaxed. "That would be good."

As Taylor climbed out of the car with her backpack, she leant back into the car. "You're not gonna forget to pick me up are you?"

"I'll try not to." She teased. "Make sure you behave yourself."

With that, Taylor was left to enter the almost empty school.

x

There were only two students in detention, Taylor and an older boy, who completely ignored her. The work they were given was both boring and pointless. It involved copying out the extremely long list of school rules, and once they'd finished they had to start all over again. But it gave her the opportunity to think. Unfortunately she hadn't been able to come up with a new prank yet, although Taylor had figured out that she needed to find her phone. Not to use, that would be crazy, but if she could remove the SIM she could put it into her old phone. Another aim Taylor had come up with was to get rid of that strap. It was way too dangerous having that around, particularly when revenge on Millar was imminent. It had taken days for its effects to fade completely, and she had no intention of suffering through a repeat performance.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It took Taylor almost a week to track down her iPhone. Eventually she had resorted to using a chair to reach the top shelf in her dad's closet, and there it was, sitting right next to the strap. In a matter of seconds the SIM card was in her pocket, and the strap tucked down the back of her pants. Taylor was feeling pretty pleased with herself. At least now she could contact DJ. She had decided what she was going to do, and she needed his help, he knew all the right people. It was big though, and for Jared's sake she was going to keep him out of it.

It turned out to be easy to get rid of the strap, in fact her dad unwittingly did it for her. It wasn't gone for good, but it would be gone for a while, giving her a 'get out of free card' just in case he completely freaked when he realised it was gone. Hell, he might even think it was funny. Well he might, she tried to convince herself.

x

Shutting herself away in her bathroom she made the all important call.

"Hey DJ!"

"Taylor, I'm not supposed to have anything to do with you. Your dad made some fu***n' nasty threats!"

"Forget him. I thought you had bigger balls than that!" She goaded him.

He sighed. "What do you want?"

"You still into cars?"

"I'm not stealin' one for you it that's what you want."

"No. It's just a prank."

"Go on, I'm listening."

"I want someone to take the wheels off a car and leave it up on blocks. Nothin' illegal, if you leave the wheels." Taylor gave him the rest of the details and eventually he agreed to do it, but because he couldn't do it on his own he wanted fifty dollars. There went the birthday money her grandpa had given her and most of her allowance. But it would be worth it.

x

Later that night he called her back. When Taylor saw who it was on caller id she thought he'd changed his mind. She hit the answer button.

DJ still had a bit of a soft spot for her, and had been talking the prank over with some of his mates. "For an extra twenty, we'll take the doors off too."

"You will?"

"Yeah. Now yes or no?"

"Yes." Taylor answered immediately. Hanging up, she lay back on her bed. This was gonna be awesome. There was no way this could be traced back to her, and she hadn't mentioned anything to Jared, he would be completely innocent.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Tomorrow was the big day, and even though Taylor was excited and nervous she forced herself to watch a movie on TV with her parents. She was lying up against her mom when the house phone rang. Jethro lazily reached over to answer it, the movie was sending him to sleep, he'd have been better off working in the basement, but he liked spending time with his wife and daughter.

Taylor could only hear one side of the conversation.

"Hi dad, you okay?" Gibbs asked.

She tensed up a little.

"What parcel?" he asked his father.

"I didn't send any …." It finally clicked, and he looked accusingly at his daughter.

Taylor shrugged innocently. "You posted it, not me."

"Uh huh?" He didn't look impressed.

"Well you did." She tried to disarm him with a smile.

Jethro turned his attention back to his dad. "No, don't bother."

Taylor grinned smugly until her father finished what he'd been saying.

"We'll be coming to you in a couple of weeks anyway."

Her smile changed quickly to a pout, but he just ignored her and changed the topic of conversation.

x

Patricia whispered into her ear. "What did you do?"

"Technically I didn't do it, dad did."

"Did what?"

"Posted grandpa's strap back to him. All I did was put it in a box."

"Nice try Taylor, but you must have known our dad would get it back eventually."

"I was hopin' it would get lost in the mail." Taylor admitted.

When her dad hung up he stood in front of her, arms folded. Are you allowed to hunt through our room?"

"I didn't need a warrant, I had probable cause." Tony was a good teacher. "Besides I knew you'd get it back. I just thought it might be feelin' a bit homesick. You gotta admit it was funny!" She gave him a small grin.

"When I go and check now, is your phone still going to be there?"

"Of course it is. I didn't take it. That would be really bad."

"Are you mad at me?" She asked in a small voice.

"I'll tell you in a minute whether I'm mad or not." He headed for the stairs, and Taylor could hear his footsteps overhead. He was checking his closet.

"It's still there isn't it?" Her mom asked.

"I didn't take it mom, honest."

When Jethro reappeared he didn't look angry. "Just as well." He announced as he dropped back into his chair.

Taylor let him settle for a few minutes before speaking him to him again.

"Dad?"

He looked over at her. What now, he thought.

"Yeah?"

"You know tomorrow's the last day of school?"

"Uh huh."

"Well that means I'm not grounded any more, and I did stay out of trouble, so…."

"You mean except for mailing the strap?"

"Come on dad, that was just for fun…."

"Spit it out Taylor, what do you want?"

"Can I have my phone back now? I won't see a lot of my friends over the summer, and I want to put their numbers into it, and maybe take a few pictures."

"You can have it back in the morning."

"But after all that time it'll need charged, the battery will be dead." She whined.

Sighing, he nodded towards the stairs. "Okay, go get it."

Yes! Taylor thought as she pulled the chair in front of the closet, now she was going to be able to take photos. Roll on tomorrow. DJ better not let her down.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Just after lunch, Taylor's phone vibrated in her pencil case. It was a message from DJ. All it said was 'mission accomplished'. She let out a sigh of relief and tried to imagine what it would look like.

"You never got your revenge did you?" Jared asked as they filed out of the classroom, report cards in hand.

Taylor couldn't hold it in any longer, and winked at him. "I wouldn't bet on that just yet."

"What have you done?" His curiosity tinged with disappointment that he hadn't been involved.

"I can't tell you, I don't want you to get into trouble, it's pretty big."

"I would have helped."

"I know, but you'll find out soon enough why you're safer not knowing. Now I need to go find my mom to tell her I want to wait outside at the car."

Jared watched her auburn head disappear down the hallway pushing against the flow of students. He stood up against the wall and waited for her to come back. Taylor reappeared her phone was already in her hand, camera app already chosen.

"Come on, this is something you're really going to want to see."

There was already a large crowd around Millar's car, but Taylor and Jared pushed their way through easily. Jared let out a gasp at the state of the car. The wheels were sitting on the ground, the car propped up on bricks, and the two doors were positioned upright between the wheels, just like butterfly wings. Millar wasn't there yet, but no doubt someone had already gone to find him. Taylor snapped a few pictures, before he showed up. It didn't take long for him to show up and the crowd of spectators opened to allow him through. The expression on his face was better than Taylor could have hoped for, and made sure she recorded it. Then more teaching staff showed up and herded the students away from the scene. Taylor and Jared moved along a few parking spaces and waited beside Patricia's car.

x

"Now do you see why you were better not knowing?"

Jared nodded. "But how?"

Taylor grinned at him. "Good contacts."

"What do you think?"

Jared grinned back. "Awesome, awesome and awesome! Oh, oh! Here comes your mom."

Taylor quickly grabbed her report card. It was sealed in an envelope, and gave the impression she was trying to open it.

"No you don't." Patricia reached over and took it from her. "That's not addressed to you."

It was only then she noticed the commotion around Millar's car. "What's going on over there? You haven't been up to your old tricks have you?"

Taylor looked offended. "No. Someone took his car apart. I don't think I could manage that!"

Patricia unlocked the car, and held the passenger door open for Taylor. "In you get. You'll see Jared tomorrow." She didn't get in just yet though, instead she went over to check the vandalised car. Curiosity satisfied, she returned to Taylor. "Must of been some of the students who are leaving this year." She informed her daughter before starting the car. "You'd be surprised by some of the things they can get up to."

"It was impressive." Taylor stated.

"Never mind that. Is your report card going to be good, or are you going to have to go into hiding?"

Taylor shrugged. Her report was the last thing on her mind right now, Millar's expression was something she'd never forget. "No idea, but you know I did try. If it sucks though I'm sure Abby would let me go live with her."


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 9**

When they arrived home Taylor waited anxiously as her mom opened her report card.

"Well? Do I have to start packing?" She asked impatiently.

Patricia glanced up at her. "I haven't finished reading it yet."

Taylor began to pace, stopping only when her mom set the report down.

"Well, it says your work has shown a marked improvement over the past few weeks, and so has your attitude."

"So that's good then?"

Her mom nodded. "That's good, your dad'll be pleased."

Taylor visibly relaxed.

"There is one part on here you might not like though. I promise I didn't know anything about it until now."

"What? If it's anything about summer school I ain't goin'!" Taylor was ready for a fight.

"No, it's not that." Patricia handed her the report.

She quickly scanned through it, trying to find the part her mom was talking about. There it was, at the very bottom of the page. Taylor dropped into a chair and read it again, just to make sure.

Patricia waited for the explosion.

"I'm moving up into your class?" Taylor didn't know what to say. Well she did, but that would only land her in trouble and hurt her mom's feelings. "What's wrong with that? Don't you want me?"

"Of course I do, I was just worried that you wouldn't like the idea."

"Will Jared be in the same class?" Taylor asked hopefully.

"Should be, the whole class moves up together. So you don't mind?"

She shrugged. "Not unless you start pickin' on me in class, then I'd have to buy more crickets."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

As soon as Taylor had changed out of her uniform, and buried it at the very bottom of her closet, she went to find Jason. She was still riding high on the success of her 'revenge' prank, and couldn't wait to share it with him, he would be so impressed.

0

He was impressed, although he wasn't too keen on the fact that DJ was involved. Apparently DJ was building up quite a reputation, not at taking wheels of cars, but at dealing drugs. Jason tried to warn her, but Taylor didn't want to know. As far as she was concerned DJ was useful, and she was not going to avoid him just because of that.

Realising Taylor was not going to listen to reason he managed to turn the conversation in the direction of Vicky. They'd decided on just being friends, but they'd been emailing for months. He was looking forward to her arrival, just as much as Taylor.

"Vicky still coming next week?" He asked.

"You already know she's gonna be here on Tuesday. " Taylor glared at him. "And if Vicky's all you're gonna talk about, I'm goin' to the skate park on my own!" Crossing back to her own side of the street Taylor went to fetch her skates. When she emerged down the side of her house Jason was waiting for her, skateboard under his arm.

Taylor grinned at him. "Got a little favour to ask you."  
He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Jared's gonna meet us at the skatepark."

"And?"

"He can't skate. Can he borrow your old pair to try it out?"

Jason dropped his board at Taylor's feet. "Okay, but I can't promise I won't laugh when he falls."

"You'd better not!" She yelled after him. "I don't laugh when you fall." Taylor rethought that statement when Jason stopped and looked back. "Well most of the time"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Jared did fall quite a few times, but he didn't give up. After a few hours, and quite a number of bruises, he was actually able to stay upright without clinging tightly to Taylor. As the three of them walked home, where Jared's mom was going to pick him up, Jared had decided he was going to ask for a pair of skates of his own. Jason's were good, but just a bit too tight. As Taylor and Jared trailed into the house though, it was Leon who was waiting to take his son home. It was the first time she had seen him since the trouble at school. At least this time he didn't look mad, but he was still chewing on a toothpick. He removed it before he spoke. "What have you two been up to then?"

"Three." Taylor corrected, before Jared had the opportunity to reply. "Jason too." She added in an attempt to explain.

"Skating dad." Jared knew Taylor was just confusing his dad.

"You can skate?"

"I can now, but I kinda need a pair of rollerblades."

Taylor nudged him, he'd forgotten already.

"Oh, and a helmet and the pads and stuff. Gotta be safe you know."

It might have been Jared's mouth moving, but Gibbs would have recognised Taylor's words anywhere.

Leon looked from one child to the other. "We'll see."

Taylor always hated that noncommittal reply, but Jared seemed happy enough. He did not suffer from the same level of impatience she did.

"So anything exciting happen on the last day of school?" Jethro asked.

Taylor looked suspiciously at her dad. What sort of a question was that?

"One of the teacher's cars got taken apart. But that was it."

Quick change of subject. "Can we go skatin' tomorrow afternoon?" she looked pleadingly at the Director. "Well if Jared has any wheels, otherwise he'll just have to watch and that wouldn't be very nice…."

"Think you've made your point Taylor." Jethro warned. "Go get washed up, your dinner's in the microwave."

"I was just sayin'" Taylor mumbled.

"I know what you were doing."

Taylor found herself gently propelled towards the stairs. "Alright, I'm going. See you tomorrow Jared, well if you get some skates." Then flew up the staircase just in case she'd pushed her dad just a bit too far.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Saturday after lunch, and her weekly visit to Dorothy, Taylor sat on the fence surrounding the skate park, waiting for Jared. When his mom pulled up, Jared emerged from the back seat of the car, kitted out in all the latest safety gear. Taylor fought back a smile. He could almost play hockey wearing all those pads. Still, it was a decent set of blades he had tucked under his arm, and he was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

O

Taylor could hear his mom calling out to him to be careful, just before she drove away. Both kids wanting to keep at least some dignity pretended they hadn't heard, and made their way over to a bench so that Jared could put on his new skates.

"You got all this stuff this morning?" Taylor was ever so slightly jealous.

"Yep." He locked his skates into place.

"Huh. When my dad says 'we'll see' it usually means he'll take ages to make his mind up, and then say no."

Jared shrugged. "I just got lucky this time."

O

They had a really good afternoon. Jared was feeling confident enough to remove some of his pads, but had enough sense to replace them before he was picked up again. Taylor was almost going to accept a ride home with Jacky, but spotted DJ in the distance. Making an excuse about wanting to walk home, she hurriedly said goodbye to Jared and crossed the park to where DJ was.

O

She hadn't seen him for quite a while. When it came to paying for the prank, Taylor had left the money in one of those little plastic moneybags, under a rock in the back yard. DJ had grown, and was beginning to bulk out. Even though he was surrounded by a number of kids, when he spotted her he still called her over. As Taylor approached the other youths, they quickly disappeared.

"You did a great job with the car DJ. I don't think anyone will ever figure out who did it."

"We aim to please! Glad you liked it." He paused. "Is your dad still a hard ass? Maybe its not such a good idea if anyone sees us together."

Taylor looked at him. "You're not scared of him are you? He wouldn't really hurt you."

"You sure about that?"

"Mostly. Besides, I pick my own friends."

"Speaking of friends, here comes one of yours now, and he's lookin' pissed!"

Taylor spun round to see who he was talking about. It was Jason, and he was stalking towards them. Jason grabbed a hold of Taylor's arm. "What the f**k are you doing with him?"

She shook him off. "I can talk to who ever I want to Jason, now f**k off!"

"I'm not leaving you with him. `I already told you he's dealing."

Taylor was getting extremely pissed by Jason's over protective attitude. "So what."

Jason finally spoke. "You heard her. Piss off!"

Giving Taylor one last look, he crossed the park, but kept Taylor in sight.

DJ and Taylor talked for a few more minutes, remembering the good, and not so good times they'd had together. As Taylor turned leave, he slipped something into her shirt pocket. She didn't look to see what it was.

"What is it?"

"Something you're gonna love." He said with a smirk.

Taylor looked sceptical .

"Don't worry, it's safe!"

She shrugged, believing him. "Thanks."

When a few prospective customers showed up, Taylor left DJ to it, and started to walk home. Jason fell into step behind her.

"Don't wanna hear it Jason." Taylor warned.

"I know you don't, but your dad would." He threatened.

Taylor stopped abruptly, dropped her skates and turned to face him, fists clenched. "You wouldn't!"

"Try me! He's dangerous Taylor."

"Yeah, says you! I was just talkin' to him."

Jason locked his eyes on hers. "So he didn't try to sell you anything?"

"NO! NOW LEAVE ME THE F**K ALONE!" Taylor yelled, before picking up her skates. She wasn't gonna hang around here to be interrogated, and not by Jason of all people.

He wasn't giving up. "What did he put in your pocket?"

Taylor took a step back.

Taking this as a sign of guilt, Jason held out his hand. For a moment Taylor just stared at him, then lifted the small tablet from her pocket. She had almost set it into his outstretched palm, when she snatched it back and popped the tablet into her mouth and swallowed.

Jason looked stunned. "What was it?

"No idea. Now you can leave me alone. Ignoring Jason she started walking.

He called after her, but Taylor didn't look back behind her again until she'd put a couple of blocks between herself and the park.

Jason must have finally got the message. He was gone. Now her temper was receding, the fact that she'd swallowed the drug, especially when she had no idea what it was, no longer felt like one of her greatest ideas. At least it didn't seem to having any effect on her. Until Jason had made her mad she'd had no intention of taking whatever DJ had given her. Taylor sat down on a low fence to think. Shit, she could do some dumb stuff. Taylor figured her best bet was to call DJ, and find out exactly what he'd given her. Then she would at least know whether or not to panic, for all she knew it might even have been an asprin.

O

Taylor was waiting for DJ to answer when a car pulled up in front of her. It was her mom. 'What was she doing here?' Taylor wondered, as Patricia climbed out of the car and joined her on the fence.

"Are you okay?" She asked her daughter.

Tapping the screen Taylor ended the call. "Uh huh. What are you doing here?"

"Your dad wanted me to pick you up. He wants us to meet him at NCIS. Standing, Patricia lifted the rollerblades then held her hand out to help Taylor to her feet. As Taylor clicked her seatbelt on, she started to relax. DJ must have been winding her up. It must have been something completely harmless he'd given her.


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 10

It wasn't until they were through security that Taylor suddenly realised it was Saturday and her dad wasn't working this weekend. Her feet stopped moving, and her heart began to beat faster. Her mom must have been watching her closely she stopped the instant Taylor did.

"What's wrong?" Patricia asked, concern evident in her voice.

"What are we doing here? Dad's not working today." Taylor wasn't scared, but her heart felt as if it was trying to force itself out through her ribs. Looked like it wasn't an asprin after all. This was not a good place to be high, although she was starting to feel really good. How would they know anyway? Unless Jason….

If her mom answered her question, Taylor wasn't aware of it. Now she was being led by the hand towards the elevator, and when Patricia hit the button for Abby's lab, Taylor couldn't stop herself reaching out to feel the buttons, they felt so smooth and cool to the touch. Her mom gently pulled her hand away from the control panel. Taylor hadn't even noticed the doors had opened, to reveal her dad standing just a few feet away. Taylor immediately forgot about the shiny buttons and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. "Hey dad! We goin' somewhere?"

When he released her, Taylor's attention was caught by the lights on the machines through the glass doors in Abby's lab. They had never looked like that before. The intensity of the lights and the colours were out of this world. She made a beeline for the one with the brightest lights, and couldn't stop herself reaching out to touch them. When a hand wrapped itself around hers and turned her around, Taylor was surprised to find, not her dad, but Ducky kneeling down in front of her. She hugged him too, but began to get a little annoyed when he wouldn't let her turn back to the lights again.

"Taylor, look at me." Ducky said softly.

"Huh?" It was difficult to concentrate when there was so much around her to look at.

Jethro was running out of patience and stood behind Duck.

"TAYLOR!" he barked.

That got her attention. "Hey dad! Are we goin' somewhere?"

"What did you take Taylor?" Jethro asked.

"Didn't take anything. I don't steal. Are we goin' somewhere?" She pulled her wrist away from Ducky who had been trying to take her pulse and took a hold of her dad's hand. "We goin' now?"

Jethro lifted her up onto an empty bench, and tried to distract his daughter as Ducky took a blood sample. It wasn't difficult. Taylor had no idea what was going on.

"How are you feeling? Gibbs asked as Duck quickly inserted the needle.

"I feel really, really good!" She admitted, looking at him innocently, with pupils the size of saucers. "Now can we go? Your eyes are blue, blue, blue! Where are we going?"

Ducky handed the small vial to Abby and she immediately slotted it into the machine. It would only take a couple of minutes before they had a result. Taylor was still sitting on the bench, swinging her legs, and taking in her surroundings when the mass spec beeped. All four gathered round the printer. Abby read the results off the sheet. "MDMA"

Neither Gibbs of Patricia looked any the wiser.

"Ecstasy bossman." Abby translated.

They all turned to look at Taylor, but she was gone.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor had grown restless sitting there, and was now making her way up the stairs, sliding her hand along the rail as she worked her way up the stairwell. Whatever DJ had given her, he'd been right when he'd told her she'd love it. It was amazing. After passing the bullpen level, and then the Director's floor, Taylor climbed a little further before running out of steps. The only thing in front of her now was a dark wooden door, with one of those emergency release bars fitted to it. She'd never been this far up before, and being the curious type, Taylor pushed the bar down, and allowed the door to swing open.

o

It was Abby who discovered Taylor sitting on the low wall that ran around the NCIS roof, feet dangling over the edge. Firing off a quick text message, Abby made her way over to Taylor, making sure she didn't startle the girl, and sat down beside her.

"It's high isn't it!" Taylor announced, eyes busy following the brightly coloured cars moving around the Navy yard.

Abby scrunched her eyes almost completely shut. "Its definitely high." She reached out and hooked her arm in through Taylor's to make sure the kid couldn't fall over the edge. Now all Abby had to do was keep Taylor in one piece until Gibbs made it up to the roof. Where were her handcuffs when she needed them? Abby thought. But Taylor didn't give her any trouble, she seemed mesmerized by what was going on down below.

"I don't know what he gave me, but this so rocks!"

"It was ecstasy Taylor, and who gave it to you?"

"Not telling. Have you tried it?"

"No, it's too dangerous."

"Don't care if it's dangerous, it feels good. Look! There's a red one!" Taylor pointed to a car pulling away from the kerb.

"Why don't we move back from the edge a bit, I'm sorta afraid of heights." Abby pleaded.

Before she could reply, Taylor was lifted from behind.

Abby wasn't long swinging her legs back onto the rooftop. "You took your time Gibbs." She complained.

"Thanks Abbs."

Jethro wasn't holding onto his daughter, instead Taylor was clinging onto his arm, completely unaware of the danger she had been in. "I'm thirsty, can I go get a drink?"

He knew there was no point in yelling now. "Sure." He took her hand and led her back inside, Abby close behind. "Ducky wants to check you out again."

"But I don't feel sick. I feel great dad."

"I know you do, that's the problem."

o

Ducky was still in Abby's lab, and wasted no time taking her temperature, pulse and checking out her eyes. At least Taylor didn't seem to be having a bad reaction to the drug.

"Hey! Where's my drink?" Taylor looked around.

Abby handed her a bottle of water.

"Just sip it slowly Taylor." Ducky warned her, then turned to Jethro and Patricia.

"Could be four or five hours before the effects start to wear off. You can take her home, but if her temperature or pulse increases you'll need to get her to a hospital. If you don't mind, I'd like to call in and check up on her in an hour or so."

Taylor lowered her bottle of water. "Who's sick?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Abby, could you go with Patricia and give her a hand?" He looked down at his daughter. "I think she just might need the help."

Abby nodded and started to shut down her lab equipment.

"When Tony show's up we're gonna bring DJ in for a little chat."

Taylor heard that alright, but didn't quite understand what her dad meant. "DJ's comin' here? I like DJ."

"I'll bet you do." Jethro replied dryly.

"Can I wait and see him?"

"No. You're going home with your mom, and Abby."

"But I wanna see DJ!"

Abby stepped in between the pair. "Come on Taylor, we're going to have a great time. Games, music, movies, whatever you want."

"Movie, no games, no movie…." Taylor was still trying to decide as Abby took one hand, Patricia the other, and led her towards the elevator.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Gibbs ad Tony had no problem picking DJ up. He was still at the skate park. As soon as he recognised Gibbs he turned and ran. Unfortunately for him, he ran straight into Tony, who quickly cuffed him. Gibbs stepped in close to DJ. "I distinctly remember telling you to stay away from my daughter."

DJ seemed unfazed. "You can't arrest somebody for talking to your daughter. Its not illegal. Besides I did stay away, it was Taylor who contacted me." He smirked at the reaction his statement provoked in Gibbs. "You can't pick her friends for her. Now are you gonna let me out of these cuffs?"

"Not yet. What sort of a friend gives a kid ecstasy?"

That wiped the smirk off his face.

DJ glowered at him. "Her little friend been telling tales. I know Taylor wouldn't!"

"Search him DiNozzo."

DJ turned pale, and looked as if he was going to either cry or throw up.

Tony's search turned up a wad of notes, a number of what they assumed were ecstasy tablets, and a small bag of weed. Grabbing the boy by the collar Tony escorted him to the car, reading him his rights as they walked.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Tony and Gibbs stood in observation, watching DJ sitting at the table. He was still crying. They were waiting for his father to show up. So far all they'd been able to do was fingerprint him and take his phone to be checked out by McGee. Until daddy showed up their hands were tied. Not that they had enough on the boy to charge him with anything serious, but hopefully between the scare they'd given him and whatever his father was going to do about the situation it might just straighten him out for a while, and more importantly make him stay the hell away from Taylor.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Meanwhile back at home, Patricia and Abby had their hands full trying to keep a hyper Taylor under control. Every opportunity she had, Taylor tried to leave. They had to resort to locking both the doors and windows. At one point Patricia had been very tempted to lock her daughter in the basement. But God only knew what she'd find to get up to down there. As it was Jethro was probably going to kill her when the drugs were out of her system, but if she hurt herself, or destroyed one of his beloved projects, Taylor could find herself buried under the floor of the basement.

o

By the time Ducky appeared to make his checks Taylor had calmed down a little, but that might have been because of the DVD she was watching. It was the original version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, lots of bright colours to keep her amused. Abby had her arm wrapped around her to prevent any escape attempt, although it was looking unlikely at the moment. Ducky was pleased enough with Taylors test results, her heart rate was down, as was her temperature. Ducky stayed just long enough for a coffee before leaving Patricia and Abby to their babysitting.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Gibbs managed to time his return perfectly. Taylor had just fallen asleep on the couch with her mom, halfway through the third viewing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Abby was also asleep in one of the chairs, snoring softly. Giving Abby a gentle shake, he pointed upstairs, and Abby sleepily headed up to the spare room.

o

Jethro slumped down on the other side of Taylor and placed his hand on her forehead to see if she was still hot. It felt fine. "How long's she been asleep?"

Patricia checked the clock on the mantelpiece. "Oh, about all of ten minutes."

"She give you a hard time?"

"You could say that. Now I can imagine what Taylor was like as a toddler. You must have had your hands full!"

"Hmmm. So what are we going to do? Put her on ebay, or drop her off at the side of a freeway somewhere?"

"I'll settle for you getting her up and into bed without waking her up. If I have to see one more Oompa lumpa tonight, I'm going to go nuts!


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 11**

Taylor felt like crap when she eventually woke up the next morning. In fact if she hadn't been so thirsty she'd probably just have stayed exactly where she was. Heading straight for the kitchen she filled a glass with water, drinking more than half of it before actually turning to see who else was there.

Her mom and dad were there at the table, but so was Abby. All three were staring at her, giving her that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, the one that always put her on the defensive. Taylor looked down at her pyjamas, just to make sure she hadn't put them on back to front, or inside out, or something. Nope, everything was in order.

"What?"

No answer. Just three pairs of eyes watching her. Taylor wasn't in the mood to hang about just to find out what their problem was. Filling her glass up again Taylor left them to it, and took her drink back up to her room. Maybe a shower would make her feel better.

Patricia spoke first. "She doesn't remember does she?"

Jethro shook his head. "Doesn't look like it."

"Maybe it's still in her system, Taylor's not very big, after all." Abby added.

"I'll go and see if she's okay." Patricia almost expected Jethro to stop her, but he didn't. That just warned her how afraid he was of losing his temper.

The shower did waken her up, and the drink rehydrated her. As Taylor dried herself, and pulled on some clean clothes, she replayed the scene in the kitchen over in her head. It had almost seemed as if she was in trouble, but the only thing she'd done lately was the car thing, and there was no way anyone could have found out about that. Still …..

When Taylor opened the bathroom door, her mom had made the bed, and was sitting waiting for her. That uncomfortable sensation returned with a vengeance. Taylor stood in the doorway, not wanting to get any closer until she knew what was going on.

"What did I do?" She asked nervously.

"Who said you did anything?"

"No one, but you're all acting weird, and why is Abby here?"

Patricia tapped the bed beside her.

Taylor shook her head. "Uh uh." Fully intending to stay out of reach until she found out what was going on. "Not until you tell me what I did."

"I just want to talk to you Taylor."

"You're not hiding that spoon?"

Her mom smiled, not a big smile, but a smile none the less. "No."  
Feeling a bit more reassured, Taylor moved to the bed and sat down.

"Are you feeling okay?" Patricia placed her hand on her daughter's forehead.

"Fine. I was just thirsty."

"Do you remember what you did yesterday?"

That was a strange question, but Taylor answered anyway. "Sure. I went to see Dorothy, then I went skating with Jared. You should see all his new gear!"

"Then what?" Her mom prompted.

"Well, then ….. I….." Taylor thought hard, but there was nothing. "I can't remember."

"You don't remember meeting DJ?"

Taylor shuffled away a bit. "How do you know about DJ?"

"How we found out isn't important, what you did is."

"But it was just a prank!" How the hell had they found out?

"You call taking ecstasy a prank?" Her mom sounded shocked.

"Ecstasy? Who said anything about ecstasy? I was talkin' about …"

"About what Taylor?" Taylor's head snapped round to see her dad standing just inside her door, leaning up against the frame.

"Nothin'!" She had absolutely no idea what was going on. It was like an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Her dad pushed himself off the frame and moved a few steps closer, just enough to make her feel threatened.

"What'd I do?" This was not lookin' good. Taylor was frantically trying to filter through everything stored in her head, but the car was the only thing she could think of, and that was the only thing that involved DJ.

o

She watched as her dad lifted the chair from her desk and set it in front of her, before straddling it and leaning his arms on the back.

"When's the last time you spoke to DJ?" He didn't sound angry, just curious. That just made Taylor think he was trying to be sneaky, and lull her into a false sense of security.

"I'm not allowed to talk to DJ cause you don't like him."

Jethro didn't raise his voice, but Taylor had no doubt he meant business. "The truth Taylor, now!"

She sighed, what was the point in hiding it anymore? "Maybe a couple of weeks ago."

Her dad pulled a sheet of paper out of his back pocket. "DJ's phone records." He explained. "June 14th was it? You called him, although I don't know how you managed to do that, considering you didn't have your phone."

"I didn't have my iPhone. I took the SIM card and put it into my old phone." Taylor confessed, as she tried to think of some reason why her dad had DJ's phone records.

"Why did you call him?" He asked voice still calm.

"I wanted him to help me. I don't know what the big deal is. It was just for a laugh! You know, let off a bit of steam, school being out and all."

His eyes were darkening. That was never a good sign. "You figured there was nothing wrong with taking drugs, just to let off a bit of steam?" He was standing now, not quite believing what his daughter was telling him.

Taylor reacted to his increasing anger by scooting a bit further back on the bed. "I don't know what you're talking about. I only got him to ..." She wasn't quite ready to admit her guilt in the prank just yet.

"YOU GOT HIM TO WHAT?" Gibbs roared, moving the chair out from between them.

Glancing at her mom Taylor mumbled her answer. "To take the wheels of Millar's car. I don't know anything about drugs."

She watched as her father paced up and down in front of her, it didn't look as if he knew what to say. Either that, or he was counting. She hoped it was the latter.

Finally he spoke. "Do you remember Jason being at the skate park?"

"No." Taylor answered, but then started to remember. "Yeah, I remember now. Jason was there, but then he pissed me off when he tried to boss me about, so I ...oh!" The 'oh' came out as a whisper as the memories of what she'd done came flooding back. Now she knew what was going on.

"So what did you do Taylor?" His voice brought her out of her thoughts and back into her bedroom.

"I wasn't gonna take it, I didn't even know what it was. I was just gonna flush it, I swear! But then Jason had to butt in, and I swallowed it just to annoy him."

"Let me get this straight. You swallowed something, having no idea what it was, just to annoy Jason? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS?"

Something clicked in Taylor's mind, and she shouted back. "HE TOLD YOU? JASON?" Not quite believing that Jason would betray her like that.

"HE WAS ONLY LOOKING OUT FOR YOU! AND THE STATE YOU WERE IN YESTERDAY, YOU WERE DAMN LUCKY HE WAS!"

Cringing, Taylor fought back the tears. There was no way anyone could yell louder than that!

o

"Jethro." The sound of his wife's voice interrupted his rant.

Taylor took advantage of the break in the tirade. "I didn't think it was real dad, I didn't!"

"Go give Ducky a call, he said he wanted to check her out again this morning." Patricia quickly suggested, before he responded to Taylor's excuse.

Gibbs gave his daughter one last glare before leaving the room.

o

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Her mom asked her again.

Least she wasn't yellin' at her, Taylor thought. That would change though when she remembered Millar's car. "I'm okay mom."  
"Good. I'm going to find your dad and try to calm him down before he has a stroke. You stay right here!"

o

Left on her own, Taylor heard the familiar sound of Jason's skateboard from across the street, and before she knew it, she was outside, standing in front of her so called 'friend', hands on hips, eyes shooting daggers.

Jason spoke first. "I'm not sorry Taylor, I didn't have a choice."

Taylor wasn't going to accept that, and threw herself at him, knocking him to the ground. She managed to get one good punch in, before he caught both her hands, and rolled over, effectively trapping her underneath him.

"Will you pack it in! What did you want me to do? Let you wander about completely wasted? You were gonna get hurt!"

Still struggling to free herself, she wasn't listening. All she wanted to do was hit him again. Taylor was getting nowhere as she tried to wriggle out from under Jason, when he suddenly leaned down and whispered. "Stop it, your dad's coming."

Letting go of her, he stood up and held his hand out to help her up. Taking it, Taylor was on her feet before her father had reached them.

o

Expecting to be dragged back across the street with a stinging backside, Taylor was surprised when her dad just pointed at their house, and gave an order. "Home!"

Shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans she made the short walk back again. She did glance over her shoulder, her dad wasn't watching her. He was checking Jason's lip that she'd managed to split. Now Taylor felt guilty. How could she have hit him like that? He'd always stood up for her, even when she landed him in trouble, and she had to admit that happened a lot.

Taylor stopped and turned just before she reached her front door, and walked back over to Jason again, risking her dad's wrath.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…." She shrugged. "You know ..."

When Jason nodded, Taylor didn't hang around, she double timed it back home.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Flying past her mom, and up the stairs, Taylor took refuge in her bedroom. She wanted some time on her own, to see if she could remember anything else she'd done, but didn't get more than a couple of minutes before Abby appeared.

"You here to make sure I don't make a run for it?" Taylor asked, not happy at having a guard.

"I thought I'd keep you company."

Taylor was tempted to give a sarcastic response, but Abby didn't deserve it. What Abby said, Abby meant.

"Do you know what I did? I can't exactly remember."

Abby frowned at her. "You scared the crap out of everyone. I found you on the roof of NCIS, feet dangling over the edge."

"Oh. That's so not good. Does my dad know that bit?"

"Afraid so kiddo."

"That explains why he's so pissed then."

"Well, that and the fact you took a drug that's so dangerous, it can kill, even the first time you try it." Abby gave her a disapproving look. "That was really dumb."

"Yeah, well I didn't die, did I?" Taylor heard Ducky's old car pulling up outside and went over to the window to look out.

"Just for the record, did I like it?" She asked as she watched him lift his leather medical bag out of the car.

"Ow!" Taylor spun round. Abby had swatted her, hard. "What was that for?" She asked as she rubbed her backside.

"For thinking about doing it again!" Abby was outraged, her stance clearly giving that fact away. She had her hands on her hips, and appeared willing to smack again if she had to. This was a dangerous Abby.

"I was just curious, and don't you think my butt's gonna be in enough trouble later, without you adding to it?"

Abby closed the short distance between them until their feet almost touched and Taylor had to crane her neck to look up at her. "Don't you dare look for any sympathy Taylor Jacqueline Gibbs, because believe me, you deserve everything you're going to get!"

Taylor fought back the tears, yet again, then threw herself down on her bed, realising she didn't stand a chance of getting out of this one. Not when easy going Abby, who usually had her six, had changed allegiances. She was doomed!


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 12**

"Don't you have anything better to do Abby? Or are you hangin' around for everything to kick off?" Taylor turned away from her. "Just leave me the hell alone!" She spat out, just before pulling the pillow over her head.

Even through the pillow, Taylor could hear Abby's boots clumping towards the door. Guilt was not a good thing, and she needed all the help she could get right now. "Don't. I didn't mean it." She felt the mattress sink down a little as Abby sat on the bed.

"I don't think hiding under there is gonna help, do you?" Abby lifted up the corner of the pillow, just high enough to see Taylor shake her head.

Sitting up beside Abby, she held the pillow in front of her. "You got any better ideas?" Taylor asked hopefully. If anyone could think their way out of a situation like this it would be Abby.

"Sorry Taylor, I don't think there's anything, anyone could do to get out of this one."

"Didn't think so." Hugging the pillow tighter, as if it was a teddy bear, she looked up at Abby. "Have you ever tried it?"

"You mean ecstasy?"

"Yeah. Have you?"

Abby shook her head, pigtails flying. "No. I want to keep my brain in one piece. That stuff can be lethal. You have no idea how lucky you were."

"Lucky, right!" Taylor gave Abby a look of disbelief.

"Lucky yes, you're still alive. Smart no, you took it in the first place. Dumb yes, you know how your dad reacts when you put yourself in danger…."

Abby stopped when Taylor raised her hand. "Okay, okay, I get the message Abby! Don't suppose you'd be up for a Thelma and Louise?"

"My car's not fast enough, besides I think we're out of time." Both looked up as Patricia and Ducky entered the room.

Ducky was not wearing his normally welcoming smile, instead his expression was definitely one of disapproval. Abby made a hasty exit, leaving Taylor to face both her mom and Ducky on her own.

Taylor figured she'd pre-empt the lecture. "I know Ducky, it was dangerous and stupid, but I'm alright now. You can keep your bag closed." There was bound to be a needle in there somewhere, and when it came to needles it was her policy to avoid them at all cost.

"This won't take long young lady." He told her as he popped a thermometer into Taylor's mouth. 'Young lady' was not a good sign. He was still angry. She tried to talk around the thermometer. "ut I taid m othay". It wasn't working, very well, but Ducky understood.

"I think we'll be the judge of that." He told her as he pulled out a syringe to take a blood sample.

Taylor shook her head vigorously. "Uh uh, o ay!"

Ignoring her protest Ducky grasped her arm, and Taylor tried to pull it away.

"Do I need to go and fetch your father?" He asked.

Glancing at her mom she realised there was going to be no back up from her. Taylor held still, although she made her disapproval perfectly clear as she glared at him. This sucked, big time. One little mistake, and she had managed to piss everyone off in one fell swoop.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Abby went in search of Gibbs, while Taylor was dealing with Ducky. She found him in the basement, and from the look of it he was still trying to work off some of his temper, chopping sticks for the fire from a pile of off-cuts. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea Abby thought, as she turned at the top of the stairs in an attempt to make a hurried retreat.

"Something on your mind Abby?" He asked without looking up.

Now she didn't have much of a choice, and slowly descended the steps.

"Just thought I'd see how you're doing." She made herself comfortable on a stool to the side of her boss.

He didn't answer, but then Abby hadn't expected him to. It took a few minutes to build up the courage to say what she wanted to. "Taylor's really scared Gibbs."

Not answering immediately, he positioned another piece of wood on the block. "She should be." He stated simply as he brought the axe down. "Are you trying to defend what she did?" Jethro set down the axe and turned to face her. "I would have thought that you of all people would have been aware of the risks she took. It was you on the roof, wasn't it?"

"I'm not trying to justify what she did Gibbs, I'm angry too!"

"Then what Abs? Spit it out!" He stepped closer to the goth. "Do you think using drugs is accecptable?" He took the briefest pause before adding, "just which ones have you tried?"

Abby swallowed hard. "I ah …. "

Another step and they were toe to toe.

"Maybe one or two back in college. Now I stick to caffeine."

Gibbs backed away, and Abby was able to think straight again. "I just thought you should know how scared she is."

Jethro gave her a strange look. "Why? Did she ask you to help her?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Abby's brain to make a connection.

"Crap! The kid played me! When I went up I was so mad at her. Hell I even gave her a swat because she didn't care about taking the drug. She actually wanted to know if she liked it! Taylor's not one bit sorry about what she did, is she? All she's worried about now is what her punishment will be, and I fell for it!"

"Taylor can be quite manipulative when she puts her mind to it." Gibbs admitted.

Abby stomped her foot, rapidly building up a head of steam. "I ought to go straight back up there and set her straight."

"No you don't." He grinned at her. "You can pass me the wood. Looks like you could do with calming down too."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Everything looks fine." Ducky informed Patricia as he packed everything into his bag again.

"Told ya." Taylor grumbled under her breath.

Only her mom heard, and gave her a warning look.

Taylor quickly turned back to Dr Mallard. "Thanks Ducky."

"You're welcome. I trust there won't be a repeat performance!"

Taylor shook her head. "No."

"Now if you start feeling sick, or strange, you tell your mom or dad straight away."

She just stared at him. He'd just told her she was okay.

"It's important Taylor. Promise me."

"Okay, I promise." She replied, holding her hands up in submission.

Ducky stood up. "I'll leave you to it. Is Jethro in the basement?

Patricia nodded, and Ducky left mother and daughter alone.

"Why's dad in the basement?" Taylor was finding it difficult to look her mom in the eye, and wasn't quite sure what to say.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's a pretty safe bet he's trying to calm down."

"Do I have to stay up here?" She asked hopefully. Right now Taylor could almost visualise bars on her window and door.

"You really have to ask that?" Patricia knew her daughter would be out of here, first chance she got.

"Just thought I'd check." Taylor pushed herself further onto the bed until she was able sit with her legs crossed. "When's all the yellin' gonna start? Or am I just gonna have to stay in here forever?"

Patricia opened the door, but paused before leaving. "If I were you I wouldn't be quite so anxious to leave your room."

Taylor was not impressed by that statement, so, as soon as the door closed, she tossed the pillow at the spot where her mom had been standing. Then went in search of the clothes she'd been wearing the previous day. With any luck her phone would still be in the pocket of her pants.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor had underestimated whoever had put her to bed the night before. Her phone was nowhere to be found. She had however managed to find her ipod, and was listening to it and reading an old comic book when her mom reappeared with her lunch. It was about time, Taylor was starving by now. As she munched on her chicken sandwich she watched with only mild interest as her mom gathered clothes out of her drawers. It was only when her bag emerged from her closet and her mom began to fill it that Taylor began to panic.

"What're you doing" Her half eaten sandwich was abandoned as she stood up.

"You're going to stay with your grandpa." Patricia just kept packing as she answered.

"I know that, but it's not until next week." Had her mom gone nuts?

"You're going today." Patricia zipped up the bag, and turned to face her daughter. She had known this wouldn't be easy.

"You're sending me away?" Insecurity clear in her voice.

"No, we just think it would be better if you went a bit earlier." She didn't add that it was to keep her away from DJ.

"But Vicky's coming on Tuesday!" Taylor had been looking forward to her cousin coming for weeks now.

"You'll see Vicky next weekend, when we bring her with us to Stillwater."

Taylor lifted the bag and dumped it down on the bed. Unzipping it she started to pull the clothes back out, leaving them in an untidy pile on the quilt. "I'm not goin' anywhere!"

Patricia didn't shout. Instead she sighed and began to fold the clothes, placing them neatly back into the bag again. "You don't have a choice in this Taylor. We've already talked this over. Don't make it any harder on yourself than it has to be."

"You're just wastin' your time, and I didn't talk anything over!" Taylor told her as she pulled on her sneakers, laces still tied.

"Taylor, you're going, and there's no point trying to run. Your dad's waiting at the bottom of the stairs."

Striding out of her room Taylor peeked over the banister. Yep, he was there. Damn it.

"If you need anything else, you can give us a call, and we'll bring it with us."

Her mom's voice right behind her made Taylor jump. Now she was trapped.

Patricia wasn't going to fold. She was going to have to try her father.

As slowly as she could, Taylor walked down the stairs. When she reached her dad, Taylor put on her best puppy dog look. "You're sending me away!" she accused, sounding hurt.

"Not sending you away Taylor, you're going to stay with your grandpa. Now do you have to use the bathroom before we leave?"

"We're leaving now?" That left her no time to talk them out of it. Not good, not good at all.

"If you need to go, go. I'll be waiting in the car."

Taylor turned and ran back up to her room. It gave her a few extra minutes to think of something, but she couldn't come up with anything. The sound of her dad's car roaring to life, drifted up the stairs. She was just going to have to go.

With no other option she headed back down, to where her mom was waiting for her at the door. She tried to just push past, but Patricia stopped her and gave her a hug, before whispering in her ear. "Try and stay out of trouble, it won't be long until we'll be there with Vicky. Love you."

Taylor still angry, wriggled free, not willing to respond, and climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

"You got everything?" Her dad asked.

Taylor just stared straight ahead and ignored him. They might be able to make her go, but that didn't mean she had to make it easy!


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 13**

Gibbs was just about to put the car into drive when Taylor spoke. "No. Wait!" She couldn't do it. Unfastening her seatbelt she climbed out of the car and made her way back to where her mom was standing in the doorway. Taylor hugged her tightly. "Love you too." Before reluctantly letting go and joining her dad again. .

"Can we go now?" Her dad asked when she'd secured her seatbelt.

"You mean I have a choice?" Taylor grumbled.

"Nope."

"Then why'd you ask?" She folded her arms defensively.

He gave her one of those looks that made her want to disappear. "Sorry."

Letting the attitude slide, Jethro pulled the car out of the drive. This was going to be one long trip.

o

Still pissed at having to leave before Vicky arrived Taylor decided to try a little reverse psychology, not only to wind her dad up, but to convince herself it might just be fun. Even without Vicky there. "You know this is gonna be a great week. Well, not exactly a week, five days. It'll feel a bit strange though, not having you or mom checking up on me all the time."

When her dad didn't bite she risked taking it a bit further. "Will Ethan be home? I wonder if he still has that wreck of a car or if he's still mad at me? But then he might have turned into the perfect little soldier."

From the way her dad was gripping the steering wheel Taylor could see she was starting to get to him. Now all she had to do was made sure she didn't push him too far.

o

Taylor didn't say anything more for a few minutes, giving him time to calm down. When his grip on the wheel relaxed, she started again. "Did you ever sneak out at night when you were my age?" She asked innocently.

Taylor instantly regretted it when her father slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Still feigning innocence she asked, "Did you forget something?"

"No, I did not forget something!" He growled at her.

She frantically tried to backpedal. "Oh come on, I'm just curious. I didn't say I was gonna do it! Geez dad, way to overreact again!"

"You think I'm overreacting?"

"Well, yeah. Don't you think all this is a bit extreme?"

"Extreme?"

"Sending me away just because I took one little tablet. You know it's perfectly natural to experiment with drugs." That had definitely sounded better in her head.

"I think we'd better get a few things straight right now. You're not going to stay with your grandpa for an early vacation, you're being punished. If you think you'll be setting a foot outside, you're very much mistaken, and by the time I'm through with you, getting into trouble of any kind will be the last thing you're gonna want to do!"

Taylor was horrified. Until now she'd assumed that missing Vicky's arrival was going to be her punishment.

"Now, unless you want to spend the rest of the trip sitting on a sore backside, you'll stop trying to find out just how far you can push me. Do I make myself clear?"

Taylor nodded, and stared out of her window at the trees beside them, determined to keep her mouth firmly shut until they got to Stillwater.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The rest of the drive really was silent. The radio was switched off, and Taylor was not going to ask her dad if she could turn it on. He was not in her good books right now, any more than she was in his. Eventually Taylor became so bored, she fell asleep, only waking up when her dad pulled the car up in front of her grandpa's store. He wasn't waiting outside this time, so Taylor made her way into the store, with her dad close behind her, carrying her bag.

o

At least her grandpa looked pleased to see her as he came out from behind the counter to greet them. He gave her a hug, before turning her to the side and smacking her butt.

"Is there anyone who's not mad at me?" She asked as she quickly backed away from him, hands strategically covering her ass.

Both her father and grandfather answered at the same time. "No."

Her dad handed her the bag. "Go on up to your room and unpack, and when you're done, stay there."

Taylor did as she was told, hoping a few cups of coffee would put him in a better mood.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It took Taylor all of thirty seconds for her to unzip the bag and literally just tip it into two drawers. Opening the bedroom window, Taylor took a look around outside, then lay down on the bed to try and figure out what she'd be spending the next week doing. Probably cleaning, or if she was lucky, helping out in the store. At least if she was allowed in the store she would actually have some contact with the outside world. Then suddenly Taylor sat bolt upright. "Crap!" She had just remembered that she had mailed the strap back here. Real smart move Taylor, she thought. Tiptoeing over to the door, she listened to the two men talking downstairs. There was nothing else for it, she had to try. Taylor crept into her grandpa's room and made straight for the drawer where she knew it had been kept. It wasn't there. Damn it, he must have found a new hiding place. Maybe it was in the room her dad had stayed in. it was worth a go, and Taylor quickly ducked into the next room, before gently easing the top drawer open.

"Looking for something?" Her dad's voice came from right behind her.

Taylor spun round, drawer sliding shut as she backed up against it. "Nn..no."

"Sure about that?" He asked, knowing full well what she was trying to find.

Just about to deny it again, Taylor caught sight of the strap in his hand. "Crap!" was all she could come up with.

Jethro pointed back towards Taylor's room. She edged past him, but he was still able to get in a decent lick, making her yelp and move a lot faster.

o

Taylor's butt was safely planted on her bed before her dad entered her room. This whole situation was just getting worse and worse. Casually tossing the strap onto what would be Vicky's bed, her father sat down beside it.

"So, you want to tell me why everyone's so angry with you?"

Fighting back the urge to say no, Taylor tore her eyes away from the strip of leather, and looked up at him. "Cause I got high, but that was all Jason's fault."

"That's it? That's all you got? And it was not Jason's fault!"

"Was. If he hadn't been bugging me about talking to DJ I would have just dumped it."

Jethro had to force himself not to reach over and throttle his daughter, someday Taylor was going to learn to take responsibility for her actions, but it didn't look as if it was going to be today.

"Are you allowed to talk to DJ?"

"No."

"Why didn't Jason want you talking to DJ?"

"He doesn't like him either, but I should be able to talk to anyone I want to, freedom of speech, and all." Taylor complained.

This time he couldn't hold himself back, but instead of throttling her, he pulled her up and swatted her butt. "That's enough Taylor!" He warned as she dropped back onto the bed. "Why did Jason tell you to stay away from DJ?"

Afraid of another swat, Taylor finally admitted the truth. "He said he was dealing. But I did not buy anything! DJ just slipped it into my pocket."

"So explain to me now how everything was Jason's fault."

She sighed. "Maybe it wasn't exactly his fault."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Keep going."

"Alright. I got high on something, and I didn't know what it was. It was dangerous and could have killed me. But it didn't. Oh, and I climbed onto the roof. But you can't really blame me for that, cause I don't remember doing it, and you could just be telling me that."

"Oh, believe me you did." He held up his finger and thumb with only a small gap between them. "You were this close to falling off the edge, before Abby found you."

Taylor shrugged. "Still only got your word on that one."

"I really hope you're not trying to accuse me of lying, because you're in enough trouble as it is." He snarled.

That might have been a dumb thing to say. "No, I just meant that it's hard for me to think I did it, when I can't remember. I can't really remember any of it."

Before her dad could continue his interrogation Taylor asked a question of her own. "Are you gonna hit me with that?" She nodded towards the strap.

"I told you before that if you ever put yourself into danger again that I'd take the hide off you, so yes, I am."

"Oh….. Is mom gonna spank me too? You know, for the car."

"That's up to her, but I think this'll cover it."

o

Taylor stared at the floor, trying to decide if that was good or bad." When she looked up again, he was on his feet.

"Stand up."

"You really gotta ….."

"NOW!"

As soon as she was up he turned her round to face her bed. "Lose the pants and bend over the bed."

Even though it was the last thing Taylor wanted to do right now she dropped her jeans, and leant over until her elbows were on the mattress.

"Shorts too."

Taylor looked back over her shoulder at her father, prepared to plead. "Aw come on, it hurts enough..."

It didn't work, and before she'd finished her sentence he'd jerked them down himself, and landed the first lick.

Crying out, Taylor buried her head in her quilt before the leather strap struck again, just below the first stripe. Her father didn't say a word, there was no point, the fire he was lighting on her backside was making it perfectly clear how unimpressed he was with her behaviour.

If Taylor had thought she had even the slightest chance making it out the door, she'd have tried it. But she had no other option but to lie there and take it, until her father decided he was done, and she was a sobbing mess. Once she managed to get the sobs under control she slowly straightened up. Taylor was convinced there was no skin left on her backside and she'd never be able to sit down again, ever. That was by far the worst hiding he'd ever given her. Pulling up her shorts, Taylor didn't even bother trying to replace her jeans, knowing how the heavy fabric would only intensify the heat. Instead she kicked both them and her sneakers off, before turning to face her dad. He was sitting down again, just watching, and waiting for her to come to him, and she did, tears starting again as he held her close.

o

When Taylor calmed down Gibbs held her out at arms length. "You had better not do anything as stupid or dangerous as that again! And you WILL stay away from DJ. Understand?"

She nodded. "Are we done then?"

This time he nodded. "Keep your nose clean until we show up next weekend, and we're done. Think you can manage that?"

"Uh huh." There was no way Taylor was going to risk as much as a single swat the way her butt felt right now. "Are you going back now?"

He stood up and kissed the top of her head. "Have to. You can stay up here until your grandpa calls you for dinner, and for heaven's sake Taylor at least try and behave yourself." With one last hug he was gone, and Taylor was left in her room with only her throbbing backside for company.


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 14**

Taylor's sentence of hard labour didn't start until the next day. She had planned to conveniently 'forget' that she was being punished, but her grandpa was thoughtful enough to have a mop and bucket waiting for her when he finally managed to get her out of bed. As unappealing as washing the floor appeared to Taylor, after yesterday's strapping she didn't want to risk getting into any more trouble. Hell, she still couldn't sit down. When Taylor had sat up in bed earlier, the pain in her butt had come as quite a shock, and had her on her feet in record time. That strap soooooo had to go!

o

By lunchtime Taylor had washed the shop, kitchen and store floors, and even managed to fit in a bit of dusting before she ate.

"Are you gonna keep me workin' all day?" Taylor finally asked as she leant against the counter in the kitchen, eating her cheese sandwich.

"That's the plan." He didn't seem concerned in the least that he was gonna work her to death. "Keeps you out of trouble."

"I'm not gonna get in trouble."

"I know you're not, you're going to be cleaning the bathroom this afternoon."

Taylor set down what was left of her sandwich, not quite so hungry now. She'd been hoping this was going to play out like the time when she'd only been grounded in the mornings, and was still allowed out in the afternoon.

"But I haven't even seen Katie or Lucas yet!"

Standing up, he set his plate into the sink. "You do remember why you're here, don't you? Or has your backside stopped reminding you already? If it has, your dad didn't do a good enough job."

Taylor glowered at him, but held her tongue.

Her grandfather ignored the glare. "If you're done eating, you can go make a start on the bathroom."

The old Taylor, the one who used to be able to sit down, would of told him what he could do with his mop, then bolted. The new one however, went in search of her cleaning supplies and headed upstairs. There was nothing for it. She was just going to have to work off her frustration.

o

If Taylor was pissed when she found out she'd be spending the afternoon working, that was nothing compared to how she felt when she found out she'd be doing after dinner.

"No way! I'll stay here." She protested.

"You're not staying on your own Taylor, it's only for a couple of hours."

"I don't do church, and it's not even Sunday!"

"Its choir practice, not church, and you're going!"

"It's in a church!" Taylor folded her arms, disgust evident in her voice.

"Do you want me to call your father and let him decide?" He threatened.

o

Less than ten minutes later Taylor found herself standing inside the church. Ear still ringing from the very one sided conversation with her dad, watching a small group of old people trying to sing. At first she didn't think she knew any of them, but then realised the sheriff was there. She just hadn't recognised him because he wasn't in uniform. After sending him a few dirty looks, just as a matter of principle, Taylor chose a spot as far away from everyone as was possible, and took up her favourite reading position. Luckily for her ass, this was on her stomach, and opened the magazine her grandpa had given her to keep her occupied. Time still dragged out though, and when her ordeal was finally over, she was greeted with the awful news that there was also choir practice on a Wednesday night. Great, she thought as she trailed after her grandpa, something to look forward to.

o

By nine o'clock Taylor was so bored she actually went to bed early. Well, it wasn't just that she was fed up, she was also afraid of losing her temper, and that would not help in her bid to regain her freedom. Close to exploding, Taylor didn't even bother saying goodnight to her grandpa, instead choosing to slink off, up to her bedroom, while he was on the phone with her dad again, probably talking about her. That thought only made her madder, and she knew that making herself scarce had been the right decision. As she lay in bed, light still filtering in through the curtains Taylor thought about Vicky, who would be arriving in D.C. tomorrow. Her cousin would probably be so busy with Jason that Vicky wouldn't even notice that she wasn't there. Taylor gave her pillow a therapeutic punch, before closing her eyes and willing herself to sleep, with the thought that tomorrow had to be better, running through her head.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Once she'd unpacked, Vicky went off in search of Jason. She wanted the whole version of why Taylor had been packed off to Stillwater early, not the edited version her aunt had given her on the drive home from the airport. Jason wasn't at home, but it was a pretty safe bet that he was at the skate park, so after telling Patricia where she was going, Vicky started walking.

o

Her assumption had been correct and Jason was more than willing to give Vicky the uncensored version of events, throwing him in a few extra bits to make it sound more exciting. DJ appeared, just as he was winding up the story, and Jason pointed him out to Vicky.

"How come he isn't in jail?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the boy.

Jason shrugged. "Don't think he was carrying that much."

"And he hasn't confronted you?"

"Nope. I think Taylor's dad may have warned him off. I could take him anyway." He added, just to make sure Vicky knew he wasn't afraid of DJ, even though he was.

"Is he still dealing?"

"What do you think?" He asked as a load of kids crowded round DJ. "Ever since he was arrested and released again, he thinks he's invincible."

"We'll just see about that!" Vicky said as she pushed herself off the fence where she'd been sitting beside Jason, and walked straight over to DJ.

o

Hanging back, Vicky waited until DJ noticed her before speaking. "Hi."

DJ looked her up and down. "Hi"

"Thought you might wanna do something." She nodded at the couple of boys waiting to make their 'purchase'. "When you're done here, that is."

DJ blushed, but answered quickly. "Sure, whatever you want to do."

Five minutes later Jason watched as Vicky disappeared with DJ, not quite sure what was going on, or if this was a good time to panic.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The next day was not better for Taylor, in fact, if anything it was worse. The jobs just kept coming, and there wasn't much point in stretching them out, because that just increased the boredom factor. No matter what she did, or how hard she tried to be good, Taylor couldn't win and her grandfather was showing absolutely no signs of leniency. By dinner on Wednesday, Taylor was ready to explode. She'd had enough, and wasn't going to go along with the unfair regime any longer. Not if she could find a way out of it.

o

Taylor tried everything she could think of to get out of going to choir practice with her grandpa again on Wednesday night, from pretending to feel sick, to offering to wash his car while he was out. Nothing worked, and Taylor found herself in the church again. This time however she was actually able to sit on one of the hard wooden pews. As Taylor sat and watched the minister fuss around the group, trying to reorganise them for some unknown reason she decided enough was enough.

o

She stood up, but instead of walking out through the door, she sat down right in the middle of the aisle facing the choir. Taylor crossed her legs, straightened her back, rested her hands on her knees and closed her eyes, assuming an almost perfect lotus position. Then began to softly hum.

o

It must have taken the minister a couple of minutes to either figure out what she was doing, or actually notice her on the floor. Taylor was just about to give up when she sensed someone standing right in front of her.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

It was not her grandpa's voice, so Taylor didn't move, but she did open one eye to see who it was. It was one very red faced, angry minister.

"Don't mind me, you just go on with your Jesus thing."

"I asked you what you're doing!" His face was now beetroot.

"I'm trying to meditate. I've decided to become a Buddhist." She closed her eye again and resumed her low humming.

"Not in here you don't. This is a house of God!" the man was almost shouting now.

Taylor kept her eyes tightly shut. "Hey! You're putting me off. I'm gonna have to start ….OW!"

Someone had grabbed Taylor's left ear, and pulled her to her feet. This time both eyes opened to reveal her grandfather, face only slightly less red than the ministers, right in front of her.

"Enough Taylor!" He spat out, as he led her towards the doors, still gripping her ear painfully. He didn't let go until they were outside and he had her safely backed up against a wall so she couldn't bolt.

Taylor looked up at him accusingly as she rubbed her ear, surprised that it was still attached.

"Do you have any idea just how disrespectful that was?" He growled, sounding remarkably like her dad.

"What? I didn't hurt anyone!" She gave her ear another rub, just to show who the actual victim was here.

"I know what you were trying to do, but its not going to work."

Grabbing her chin, he tilted her head so she was looking right into his eyes. "You're going to march yourself back in there and apologise to everyone."

Taylor shook her head free. "I'm NOT gonna apologise for being a Buddhist!"

"You're not a Buddhist Taylor. You're just a bad tempered brat, throwing a tantrum because you can't get your own way!" Taking a firm hold of her shirt he continued. "Now, we're going to go back inside and you are going to apologise to everyone. Then you can spend the rest of the practice standing in a corner."

Opening her mouth to protest, she didn't get the chance to say anything.

"If you're not willing to do that, I'll just have to drag you inside, spank you until you do apologise, and you'll still end up in the corner. Same outcome, different methods. One's just more painful and embarrassing than the other.

Taylor tried to pull away, but he wasn't letting go, and easily guided her back inside again.

o

The babble coming from the choir abruptly stopped, and the church fell silent. Taylor was only released when they were both standing directly in front of the minister and his choir. It was so quiet Taylor could almost hear her own panicked heartbeat. Chewing her bottom lip she stared down at the floor.

"Do it!" He whispered harshly down at her.

"I'm sorry." Feeling embarrassed now all eyes were on her, she whispered up to the man who was now putting her in this uncomfortable position. "Which one?"

Her grandfather pointed to the corner nearest the choir. Keeping her head down Taylor walked quickly over to the spot he'd pointed to, positive her face was now as red as the minister's had been, and put her nose in the corner. The church was silent for the next few seconds, then the babble started up again and Taylor relaxed now they'd forgotten about her. That hadn't exactly gone to plan she thought. Maybe it hadn't been the brightest idea to try and pull off a stunt like that, in a church of all places.

o

When practice was over Taylor held her position in the corner, not wanting to turn around just yet. From what she could hear there were still quite a few people hanging around. Eventually the church was quiet again, and she was just about to risk a quick look over her shoulder, just to make sure her grandpa hadn't left her there, when he spoke.

"Taylor."

Slowly she turned around to find her grandfather standing beside the Reverend Moore. For a religious man he still looked kinda mad. Taking a deep breath, Taylor walked over to them.

"You're going to make up for tonight's little performance by spending tomorrow cleaning this place from top to bottom." He announced, along with a glare that clearly warned her not to argue about it.

She shuffled uncomfortably. "Yes sir." Taylor did not want to piss him off any more than he already was, before they got home. During her stint in the corner she had reverted back to Christianity, praying hard that her grandpa wouldn't crack up when he got her on her own.

o

It must have worked, because instead of shouting and spanking, he'd given her a couple of swats and sent her to bed early. Taylor was happy enough with that outcome and decided to class it as something of a miracle, although she was definitely not looking forward to cleaning the church. That place was massive.


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 15**

Jason waited in his driveway for Vicky to return. He had almost given up when she strolled around the corner into view. Jason was in front of her in seconds, blocking her path. "What the hell are you playing at? Are you crazy?"

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Overreact, why don't you!" She tried to step around him, but he wasn't going to let that happen.

"What is it with you and Taylor? Why can't you see that DJ's dangerous?" Jason couldn't understand how the two girls didn't get it.

She let out an exaggerated sigh. "I know he's dangerous, I just want to make sure he gets caught."

"You're setting him up?" He looked at her as if she had just grown another head.

"That's the idea. If he gets caught with enough gear, he won't walk this time."

"You are crazy! What do you think he'll do if he finds out you're Taylor's cousin? Or even worse, what happens if his supplier finds out what you're trying to do?"

"That's good Jason, just keep up the positive thinking!" Vicky told him sarcastically. She instantly regretted it though when she realised she'd hurt his feelings. "Sorry. I know you're trying to look out for me, but trust me, I'm not gonna do anything dumb."

Jason blushed, mainly at the concern in her voice, but also at the fact that he might look like a coward.

She sensed the change in his attitude. "I'm just gonna hang out with him for a while, and when I'm sure he's carrying enough I'll make a call. Don't you think he should pay for what he did to Taylor?"

"Well yeah, but ..."

Vicky quickly kissed him on the cheek, distracting him from coming up with any more excuses. "Don't worry, I'll be careful." She told him before darting up the path and letting herself into the house, leaving Jason standing alone on the sidewalk wondering just how she'd managed to change his mind.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Yet again Taylor was not a happy bunny. She found it difficult to believe her grandfather was making her go through with the whole cleaning the church thing. The fact that he was actually sitting up at the front with the minister, drinking coffee, while she polished the pews was really pissing her off. There must be hundreds of them, well, maybe not hundreds, but there were a lot, and a bit of help wouldn't have gone amiss. Still, Taylor had to admit it was better than a spanking. When it came down to it, most things were, and considering how seriously her grandpa took the whole religion thing she'd got off pretty lightly. Didn't stop her firing a few dirty looks their way though, just to make herself feel better.

o

As Taylor worked her way towards the front of the church she began to pick up the occasional snippet of conversation. Nothing of any interest at first, baseball, fishing, the rising price of gas, so Taylor paid little attention as her mind drifted to more important things such as home, and what Vicky might be doing right now. Whatever it was it was bound to be better than this. Annoyed at the thought, she gave the wooden bench another squirt of polish. Maybe it would be slippy enough for someone to slide off and end up on their ass. Now that would be worth going to church to see. Taylor was just picturing this in her head when a single word from her grandpa snapped her out of her daydream. He'd mentioned Kelly.

o

Taylor was aware of the fact that she had a sister, but her dad only ever mentioned her when he was angry, and she'd scared the crap out of him by doing something dangerous. Curious, she edged a little closer. The minister must have known Kelly too. He was singing her praises, and telling her grandpa how good she'd been when she'd been in Sunday School, during her stays in town. Taylor shook her head as she moved another row closer. Who in their right mind went willingly to school on a Sunday? She would need a gun in her back to force her through the doors, and a set of handcuffs to keep her there.

Her grandpa let out a long sigh. "When Shannon and Kelly were killed it destroyed Leroy. He was never able to get over it, not completely. Even when Taylor was born, it wasn't the same, he..." Jackson stopped, suddenly aware Taylor was staring at him, but before he had the chance to say anything else she had dropped the duster and polish and hightailed it out of the church.

He called out after her, but by the time he made it outside, the street was empty and there was no sign of his granddaughter.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Gibbs looked up to find Tony standing in front of his desk, looking extremely uncomfortable, and clutching a manila folder.

"Spit it out DiNozzo!" Taking his glasses off he braced himself for Tony's confession.

"Ah, boss ... you know the girl I've been dating, the cop, well I thought I'd check how the surveillance was going on the guy who gave Taylor ..." He checked no one was around to overhear before whispering "the ecstasy."

Gibbs straightened up a bit. "And?"

"There might be a bit of a problem." He handed the folder to his boss.

Opening the folder, he replaced his glasses before pulling out a number of photographs. Gibbs stared at them in disbelief. "What the hell?" He looked up at Tony, who had taken a step back. "I'm gonna kill her!"

"Now come on boss, there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation." Tony was already feeling sorry for the girl.

"And what would that be DiNozzo?"

"I haven't thought of one yet." He had to admit. "It could just be a ..."

Gibbs cut him off. "If you're about to say coincidence, don't! You know how I feel about them."

Tony couldn't think of anything else to say, but by the looks of it, Gibbs wasn't going to hang around to listen anyway. He'd already removed his badge and gun from the drawer and was replacing the pictures, clearly intent on taking the folder with him.

"There's only one way to find out exactly what's been going on." He called back to DiNozzo as he headed towards the elevator. "Vicky better have a damn good reason, or I swear to God I'm gonna..." The elevator doors closed behind him cutting off the rest of his threat.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Taylor kept running, knowing that when she stopped she would have to think about what she'd just heard. For now, she focused on the rapidly growing ache in her legs, and the painful fight to get enough oxygen into her lungs to keep her moving. However she couldn't keep going forever, and finally had to give up, dropping to the ground beneath a tree. She had no idea where she was, but didn't care, all Taylor wanted right now was to be on her own. As her breathing slowly returned to normal, the sick feeling in her stomach grew. Drawing her knees up tightly in front of her, she allowed the tears to fall.

o

Long after the tears had stopped, Taylor was still sitting under the tree. All cried out, Taylor wasn't sure how to feel now. She was the replacement, who didn't quite cut it. Taylor couldn't understand how she hadn't realised that before. It was so obvious now that she thought about it. If Kelly and her mom hadn't died, she wouldn't be here. She'd be... Taylor tried to think back, past her earliest memories, to before she'd been born. Nothing. She'd be nothing. Would that have been better than being a reserve? She wasn't sure. Maybe while she'd been busy being a 'nothing', her dad might have ended up having more 'Kellys' and then when the accident happened he wouldn't even have needed an inferior reserve like her. Shit, if there had been no accident, Kelly could have kids of her own by now, and she'd still be floating around somewhere, a big useless 'nothing'. Taylor kicked at the ground with her heel, she was tying her brain up in knots with so many 'what ifs' bouncing about in her head, and the more she thought, the more confused she became.

o

At some point, in the warmth of the day, Taylor's brain gave up on trying to think, and she fell asleep. When she woke up, curled up at the foot of the tree she wasn't sure where she was, or what she was doing, but it didn't take long for it all to come flooding back. Fighting back a new wave of tears, Taylor straightened out slowly, limbs stiff from lying curled up on the hard ground for so long. Taking a quick look around to get her bearings, Taylor started walking in the direction she figured would take her to the lake. She liked it there, it was one of her favourite places, even though Ethan had pushed her in.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Vicky was feeling pretty pleased with herself. It had only been a couple of days, but so far she'd managed to spend most of her time with DJ, and he didn't seem to have a problem trusting her with information about his little 'sideline'. To be honest, the boy wasn't really that bright, and from what she'd discovered so far, tomorrow was the day her would 'restock', and she intended to be there when he did.

o

Sitting in the kitchen Vicky was sipping at a can of coke, and going over in her head what she was going to do, when a cardboard folder was slammed down on the table in front of her, making her jump, and spill some of her drink.

"EXPLAIN!"

Her heart was racing. She hadn't heard her uncle come up behind her. Even though she'd been startled Vicky tried to keep her cool, hoping desperately that Jason hadn't told on her. "Explain what?"

Jethro pulled out a chair and sat down directly opposite her. He did not look happy as, without saying a word, he slid the folder closer to her.

Taking that as a sign to look inside, Vicky did. Then immediately wished she hadn't.

"Shit!" She whispered, then quickly apologised, remembering what her uncle thought about swearing. "Sorry, that just slipped out."

"I'm waiting!" He ground out.

He had his eyes locked on hers, and Vicky found it extremely difficult to tear her eyes away to look at the photographs again. "It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

The fact that she hadn't ask why the pictures had been taken, gave away quite a lot. "So you do know who he is then?"

Vicky nodded.

"And what he did?"

She nodded again, there was no point denying it.

"I'm going to say it one more time." He said it slowly as if talking to a small child. "EXPLAIN!"

Vicky cringed at the volume of the order. "I didn't think it was fair that he got away with giving Taylor ecstasy, so I figured I'd ..." Her plan didn't sound quite so good anymore. Her uncle was a lot more intimidating than Jason.

"You'd what?" His patience, what little that he had left, was wearing thin.

"I figured I'd get close to him and find out when he'd be carrying enough drugs to really get into trouble, then call the cops and they could pick him up."

Gibbs stared at his niece in disbelief, before standing. He had to pace. "HAVE YOU TAKEN LEAVE OF YOUR SENSES? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT COULD BE? DRUG DEALERS ARE NOT PEOPLE YOU WANT TO CROSS!" The image of his first wife and daughter flashed through his mind. They'd paid the ultimate price for crossing drug dealers, and here was Vicky putting herself in the same type of position, right under his nose.

o

Patricia must have heard the commotion, hell, Jason probably heard it from across the street, because she appeared in the doorway before going to stand beside her husband. She'd picked up the gist of what was going on, and eyed Vicky carefully, but didn't speak. Their niece was crying quietly now as a result of his outburst, so Jethro sat down again and lowered his voice. "Vicky, look at me."

Vicky shook her head.

Reaching across the table he took her hand. "I understand you were trying to do something good, but you have to understand it has to stop now. It's not worth putting yourself in danger over, leave it to the professionals. "He spread the photographs over the table. "You can see from the photos, he's being watched pretty closely."

Blushing, Vicky flipped the one of her kissing DJ over, not wanting to look at it. "Do they know he's meeting his dealer tomorrow afternoon?"

"You sure about that?"

When Vicky nodded and sniffed at the same time, Patricia handed her a tissue.

Gibbs was silent for a minute or two as he decided what to do about the whole mess. Then he turned to Patricia. "Could you take Vicky to Stillwater tomorrow morning instead of the weekend?"

"That's probably the safest option. I'll go start packing." Patricia left the pair on their own again.

"Okay, this is what's going to happen. You're gonna tell me everything you know, and I'll pass it on to the police. You're not going anywhere DJ anymore, but you're going to have to break up with him. Send him a text and tell him you had to go back home, so it won't look quite so suspicious. Understand?"

"Yes." Right now she wasn't quite sure just how much trouble she was in, but was relieved she wasn't being sent back to Atlanta.

"Good. By the time he's arrested, you should be well out of the way." Jethro reached into a drawer behind him and pulled out a notepad and pen. "Okay, I want to know everything DJ said or did."

Closing her eyes to help her remember, Vicky started talking.


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 16**

Taylor was sitting cross-legged at the end of a jetty at the far side of the lake when she heard footsteps behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. It was the sheriff. That was all she needed now. "What are you gonna do? Shoot me, or push me in?" Taylor turned away from him and nodded at the water. She did not get up.

"You've been gone most of the day, you're grandpa's worried about you."

Dismissing that statement Taylor made one of her own. "I haven't done anything illegal, so you can just leave me alone." Instead of hearing the man clomp off the wooden platform, she heard him move closer.

"I'm not leaving you here on your own, it'll be dark soon."

"What do you care?" Taylor lifted one of the smooth flat pebbles from the small pile she had sitting beside her, and skimmed it across the surface of the water. "This is police harassment."

"No its not. I'm off duty now." He reached down and took one of her stones. "It's easier if you're standing up." With a flick of his wrist the pebble bounced over the water, at least three times further than Taylor's had gone.

She shrugged at the advice, her dad had already taught her to skim properly. Taylor stood up. Cold and hungry now she wasn't going to kid herself that she'd be able to fight her way past him, he was kinda big. All she wanted to do right now was crawl into her bed and shut out the rest of the world by curling into a little ball under the covers. The only problem with that was that she'd have to pass her grandpa to do it, and she didn't want to face him.

The sheriff seemed to read her mind, about her stomach anyway. "You hungry?" he asked.

When Taylor turned round he was pulling a chocolate bar from his jacket pocket. Even though she didn't want to admit that she was hungry, she took it. "Thanks." Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

o

Keeping her distance, Taylor took a bite before asking, "Is he angry?" Not that she cared if he was, but advanced warning was always good.

"No. I told you, he's worried. You took off without giving him the chance to explain."

Tears threatened to appear again, but she blinked them away. "I know what he meant, I heard him clear enough."

The sheriff shook his head. "You didn't let him finish."

Taylor glared at the man. Did he think she was dumb enough to fall for that? Her grandfather had had all day to come up with an excuse. "Whatever!"

He put his hand on her shoulder and got her moving. "Come on, you're going to have to go home sometime, might as well sort this mess out."

She didn't resist, Taylor was all out of fight, and needed to get this over with.

o

They walked back towards town together, Taylor still munching on the chocolate bar. When the store came into view Taylor began to have second thoughts about the confrontation waiting for her, and subconsciously slowed down. This proved to be a big mistake. It just alerted the sheriff to her change of mind, and he grabbed her easily when she tried to run. Taylor was still trying to wriggle free as he dragged her inside, the little bell above the door ringing, announcing their arrival.

At the jingle her grandfather appeared from somewhere out back. She had to admit he did look worried, not mad. Taylor stopped struggling and deliberately looked away from him. Instead she glared up at the sheriff. "You can let me go now, I'll stay!"

When he released her, Taylor straightened her t-shirt, before shoving her hands into the pocket of her jeans and stalking past her grandpa, straight up the stairs to her room. She might be home, but that didn't mean she had to talk, or listen for that matter, Taylor told herself as she slammed the door behind her with a resounding crash. Not wasting any time Taylor kicked off her sneakers as she crossed the floor, leaving them where they fell, before slipping out of her jeans and crawling under the covers. Curling up as small as she could, Taylor scrunched her eyes tightly shut and listened.

o

it wasn't long until she heard her bedroom door open, and the springs on her bed creak as her grandfather sat on the bed beside her.

"We need to talk." He said softly.

Taylor ignored him, willing him to leave.

"Come on Taylor, I know you're not asleep."

"Go ….. away!" She spat out.

"Taylor …."

"Go find someone else to talk to 'cause I'm ain't listening!"

"Alright, that's enough! You're as bad as your father, getting the wrong end of the stick, then running off half cocked!" Jack pulled the covers back. "Sit up."

Taylor hesitated.

"NOW!"

For a brief moment, an extremely brief moment, Taylor considered telling him to fuck off, but in the interests of self preservation decided against it. She reluctantly pushed herself up and backwards until she was leaning up against the headboard. Hugging her pillow Taylor stared straight ahead, just to make sure her grandpa couldn't make eye contact.

"You want to tell me what was going on in that head of yours when you stormed off this morning?" He sounded like her dad.

Still looking forwards, Taylor chewed on her bottom lip in an attempt to stop herself from crying. She replayed the conversation over again in her head, but stayed silent.

"You're not being fair." He told her, sounding hurt.

Now that was something she didn't hear very often. Normally they were the words that came out of her mouth. It piqued her interest, and she couldn't help glancing round at her grandpa, before resuming her stubborn stance.

"Fine. If you're not going to say anything, you can just listen."

Trapped on the bed Taylor didn't have much of a choice, even though she was tempted to cover her ears, like a little kid.

"I know your dad hasn't told you much about Kelly. He thought it was better to wait until you're older."

Taylor's temper flared. "Why? Cause I ain't as perfect as she was? Well that's just too bad, I never asked to be a substitute!" She flinched as her grandpa reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. Taylor didn't shake it off. The contact made her feel better, even though the angry part of her didn't want it to.

"A subsitute? How'd you manage to come up with that crazy idea?" He knew she was upset about him talking about Kelly, but how could she think that?"

"I'm not stupid. I know if Kelly hadn't died I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't be anything."

"Taylor you were not born to replace Kelly."

"Yeah right!" Now she did shake his hand off her shoulder."

He thought for a couple of seconds. "I want you to think about something…..What if Kelly had a brother or sister, would that make them a reserve? Or what if you end up with a little brother or sister, would they only be there in case something happens to you?" Jackson watched his granddaughter carefully. From all outward appearances it looked as if Taylor was ignoring him, but he knew she was thinking.

"Do you think this brother or sister would be exactly like Kelly, or exactly like you?"

Taylor gave the slightest shake of her head.

"Everyone's different Taylor, and believe me no-ones perfect. Not me, not your dad, not you and not Kelly."

"Does that mean Kelly screwed up, though she went to Sunday school?"

"Sure she did."

Taylor was thinking this over when she remembered the part that had really hurt. "You said that even when I was born it wasn't the same!" Tears springing up again, she scrunched her eyes closed briefly, to stop them falling.

"I did say that." Jack admitted. "But you didn't let me finish, you just ran off."

That earned him a glare, but he didn't mind, at least he knew she was listening. "When Shannon and Kelly were killed, it did destroy your dad, and no he never really got over it." He could see Taylor begin to tense up in anticipation of what she thought he was going to say next, so he moved a little closer and put his arm around her.

"The accident changed him Taylor. Your dad used to be a lot like Tony."

Taylor looked at him in disbelief. "Like Tony?"

He grinned. "I know it's hard for you to imagine, but he was. Dumb pranks and goofball attitude included. Then after the accident he left the marines, hell bent on revenge and joined NCIS. He knew there was no way to change what had happened, but he was intent on trying to stop it happening to anyone else, and if he couldn't do that, he could at least make people pay for their crimes."

Taylor might have been upset and angry, but she wasn't slow. "What do you mean revenge? I thought it was an accident." She asked suspiciously.

"Your dad wants to be the one to explain what happened, so you'll have to ask him about that." When she didn't argue he continued. "When you were born it was a whole new start for your dad, and what I was trying to say this morning was that it wasn't the same as when Kelly was born, because he was absolutely terrified that something would happen to you too. It's always somewhere in the back of his mind he could lose you too. That's the ONLY reason it was different. Do you understand now? You're not a replacement, and he doesn't love you any less, he's just scared he can't protect you enough."

Taylor wasn't sure how to respond. It didn't seem to be something her grandpa would make up, and it did explain how her dad reacted when she did anything dangerous. Nodding, she relaxed and leaned into him before looking up at him sheepishly. "You couldn't have said that this morning?" Making it sound as if it was all his fault.

"You weren't supposed to be listening, you were supposed to be working. Which reminds me, you're going to have to finish off the other side of the church tomorrow, seeing you left in such a rush." He felt her shrug. "What, you're not going to put up a fight?"

"Nope. For a while today I was afraid I was gonna have to start goin' to Sunday school like Kelly did, and anything's better than that, even cleaning."


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 17**

Vicky stole the occasional look at her aunt in the driving seat. Patricia hadn't mentioned the whole DJ thing. Not a single word, but Vicky was positive that going to Stillwater was not going to be the end of the matter. She had the distinct feeling that she was in a whole heap of trouble. Now, when Vicky thought back over everything she'd done, her actions didn't seem like such a great idea. Her quest for justice had resulted in one very pissed off uncle, and even though Patricia seemed calm on the outside it was highly likely that she was seething inside. They passed another road sign. Stillwater fifteen miles. Vicky was going to find out soon enough how her aunt felt about what she'd done.

o

Taylor had been trusted to finish off her cleaning duties at the church on her own, as her grandpa was too busy in the store to go with her. This did not however mean that she was left unsupervised. The minister watched her suspiciously as she finished polishing the wooden benches. Taylor figured he was either worried that she was going to skip some of them or steal something. She just ignored the man, he could think what he wanted, she was feeling much happier after her talk with her grandpa last night.

o

When she was finally done and Taylor handed back the polish and cloth, the minister made a big show of checking her work. Didn't bother her, hell he ought to try living with an ex-marine and their standards. When he couldn't find anything to complain about he finally said thank you. Shrugging, Taylor didn't tell him he was welcome, instead she stepped out into the sunlight, leaving the Reverend Moore to his dark musty church.

o

Taylor took her time as she walked back towards the store, in no hurry to be given something else to do. She kept her eyes peeled for Katie or Lucas, but quickly forgot about them when she spotted her mom's car parked outside the store. Picking up the pace, Taylor raced across the street and into the store. Her mom was standing in front of the counter and Taylor wasted no time throwing her arms around her in a tight hug.

A man's voice came from behind one of the shelving units. "Looks like someone missed you."

Blushing, Taylor released her mom and turned to see who it was. It was the sheriff, again. "You sure you're not followin' me?" She asked.

Patricia was just about to tell her daughter not to be cheeky, but stopped when the sheriff grinned.

"I was here first, so technically that means you're following me."

"Huh." Taylor turned back to her mom. "Where's dad?"

"He's working, but he'll be here in a day or so." Patricia ruffled her hair, pleased by her reception. "Have you been behaving yourself?"

Taylor didn't answer immediately, and glanced guiltily at both the sheriff and her grandpa before uttering an unconvincing "Uh huh."

When her grandfather raised a questioning eyebrow at her she quickly changed the subject. "Is Vicky here?"

"She's upstairs."

That was all the information Taylor needed before she was on the move again, this time in the direction of her bedroom. She found Vicky sitting dejectedly on her bed.

"You okay?" Taylor asked as she bounced down on the bed beside her. She looked her cousin over carefully. Something wasn't right. "You're not hung over again, are you?"

"No." Vicky gave her a small smile. "You're not high again are you?"

"I wish! All I've done for the past week is work." She moaned.

"So you haven't seen Patrick then?"

"I haven't seen anyone, except the creepy minister, the choir, and the sheriff. Real excitin' stuff!" Standing up, again Taylor moved over to the window. "Do you know if they're still mad at me?" Her mom hadn't seemed angry just now, but you could never tell with her. She was hoping that their arrival would signal the end of her punishment.

"I don't think you're the one in trouble anymore. That would be me." Vicky didn't elaborate. Taylor looked at her cousin, surprised by her revelation. "What'd you do?" She figured that if it took the heat off her, it must be bad.

o

All three looked up when a resounding crash came from above, followed by what was clearly Taylor's raised voice. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"

Patricia was the first to react, flying up the stairs and heading straight to the source of the disturbance, the girls' bedroom.

By the time Jackson made it up, Patricia was already trying to pull Taylor off Vicky, but her daughter didn't even seem to notice she was there, only focusing on her cousin.

"ENOUGH!" Jackson roared from the doorway. The order was loud enough to momentarily distract Taylor, and the instant she relaxed her grip, Patricia hauled her roughly to her feet.

o

Taylor was breathing hard, a mixture of adrenalin and anger still in control. Her eyes were locked on Vicky, who was still on the floor, surrounded by fragments of what used to be a bedside lamp. More shocked than hurt Vicky pushed herself up. Taylor lunged at the girl again, making her take a panicked step backwards, but her mom was holding her well out of reach. "Let go of me!" She spat out as she tried to break free. Instead of letting go though, her mom just dragged her out of the combat zone and into the other guest room.

The sudden change of location, accompanied by a sharp smack to her behind, brought Taylor's struggles to an abrupt end. She immediately switched from attack mode to defence as she was led over to the corner of the room.

"Don't you dare move from here!" Patricia warned as she turned her daughter around to face the walls.

Bracing herself for another swat, Taylor closed her eyes tightly. It didn't happen, and she slowly became aware of her mom's muffled voice coming from the next room. Realising she was on her own now, she tried to calm herself down, and assess the situation she was in now.

o

Angry did not describe how Taylor felt about Vicky setting DJ up like that. DJ was her friend. Her temper broke through again and she kicked angrily at the wall. It didn't make her feel any better. Now she wasn't just mad, but her foot hurt as well. Then Taylor started to think. Vicky hadn't said that DJ had been arrested, maybe it hadn't happened yet. There could still be time to warn him. She started to turn, but a voice behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't even think about it!"

Looking behind, Taylor discovered her grandpa sitting on the bed, perfectly positioned between her and the door. "But ..."

"No buts." He moved his finger in a circle, and waited for her to face the corner again.

Now, more frustrated than angry, she did just that.

o

Taylor used the rest of her corner time trying to figure a way out of this. Not just for herself, but for DJ too. If he could be warned, that would be his best bet, but she didn't have her phone, and there wasn't much chance of her getting that back now. No phone meant that she didn't have his phone number either. She knew Jason's number, well, his home number, but he wouldn't have DJ's. Probably wouldn't give her it anyway, even if he did. The only other person who might have the number would be Vicky, Taylor thought. Knowing her cousin, she was bound to have conned DJ into thinking he was her boyfriend or something, and DJ would have fallen for it hook, line and sinker. How the hell would she be able to get a hold of Vicky's phone now? 'Shit' she thought, she was going to have to make up with Vicky, and fast!

Taylor spun to face her grandfather. "I need ..."

He wasn't going to listen. "I know what you need, now put your nose back in the corner before you get exactly that."  
"I just want to tell Vicky that I'm sorry."  
"You'll get the chance to do that later, now do as you're told!"

Taylor stared at him defiantly, until it looked as if he was going to stand up, then quickly spun back round again.

o

To Taylor in her state of nervous anxiety, it felt as if she'd been standing in the corner for at least a lifetime. Finally she heard her bedroom door close, then her mom enter the room.

"Thanks Jack. I'll take it from here."

"Vicky okay?" he asked.

Taylor didn't hear a reply, just the door closing behind her grandpa.

Not wanting to waste any more time Taylor turned to face her mom. "I wanted to apologise, but he wouldn't let me!" She offered up.

"Did I say you could move?"

Her mom was picking way too much up from her dad. Biting back a sarcastic response, Taylor turned away again. This was getting ridiculous, but she needed that phone.

The silence stretched out and Taylor had to give it another try. "I didn't hit her." That had to count for something. "I just lost my temper and pushed her down."

"So you had no intention of hitting Vicky?" Patricia had moved and was now standing right behind her.

Taylor was not going to risk lying, she'd fallen into that trap too many times before, but she wasn't going to admit to anything either, so she just shrugged.

"How many more times are you going to find yourself in trouble before you learn to control your temper?"

The smart ass reply was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Three, maybe four. Who kn...OW!"

Spinning round to face her mom Taylor made sure her butt was safely positioned out of reach, in the corner. "Sorry."

Patricia was looming over her now.

"Will you quit smackin' me. I didn't hurt her, and if you let me outta here I'll go apologise."

Her mom actually looked as if she was considering her offer, so she added "and I'll pay for the lamp." She was still thinking, not swatting, that was good. "Please mom, I don't want Vicky to be mad at me for the whole vacation."

Against her better judgement, Patricia decided to give her daughter the benefit of the doubt. She didn't want this to drag out all summer. Stepping back a little she nodded slowly. "Okay, but this is the only chance you're getting. I don't want any more fighting, do you understand?"

"Uh huh." Taylor started for the door, just in case there was any change of mind on her mom's part.

"I mean it Taylor, keep a lid on that temper!" Her mom warned again as they both stopped outside the room Vicky was in.

Taylor hesitated, trying to build up the courage to go in. "What if she's still mad at me?" She asked, suddenly afraid that Vicky wouldn't accept her apology.

Reaching over her, Patricia pushed down on the door handle. "There's only one way to find out."

o

Vicky was sitting on her bed, and it was perfectly clear that she'd been crying. Taylor felt the slightest pang of guilt, but forced it away by thinking about DJ. She glanced at her mom who was now standing in the doorway watching her closely, before sitting down on the bed opposite her cousin. It was time to bite the bullet. "I'm sorry."

Vicky didn't look convinced.

Taylor couldn't handle the 'hurt' look, so she dropped her eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper and knocked you over."

This time Vicky did speak. "That's okay, you were lucky. I was just about to kick your ass."

When Taylor looked up, Vicky was grinning at her, so she grinned back. "Yeah, just you keep dreamin'."

Patricia must have been happy enough with the sincerity of Taylor's apology, because she left the two girls alone. Now all Taylor had to do was to get her hands on Vicky's phone. Swinging her feet up onto the bed she put her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling.

"So, DJ's in jail now?" Taylor ventured.

"Don't know. Did you really mean it when you said you were sorry? Or were you just tryin' to save your ass?"

Taylor didn't miss the fact that Vicky had glanced at her watch before answering. It hadn't happened yet, but it was going to be today, and from the looks of it, it would be soon.

"I am sorry, already told you that. So how'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Set him up."

"Does it matter?" Vicky was not making this easy.

Taylor shrugged as if it didn't. "Just curious." She changed tack, Vicky wasn't buying it. "So are you grounded too?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so. I don't really want to bring the subject up again by asking."

"What did they do to you?" She was curious now, it didn't sound as if she'd been punished.

"Nothing yet."

"Nothing?" Taylor rolled onto her side so that she could see her cousin, and in doing so noticed the phone charger plugged into the socket on the wall beside Vicky's bed. She traced the cable to where it disappeared under the bed, and there it was, just lying there, giving the occasional flash. It must have been knocked off the bedside table when they'd been fighting. With her goal in sight, Taylor figured she'd go for a little more payback.

"That's what happened to me. I thought I was off the hook when they bundled me into the car, but my dad only brought me here because he wanted the strap.

It was working, Vicky was starting to look worried, so she kept going. "He really tore my ass up, I couldn't sit down for almost a week. Mom's spoon is nothing compared to that, it burns like fuck. I think I still have some of the welts, do you wanna see?" Taylor stood up to show her cousin, but Vicky shook her head violently, which was just as well, because there hadn't been any marks, not even straight after. She sat down again and had to stop herself from laughing at the expression on her cousin's face. "Don't look so worried, I'm sure they're not that mad at you, after all it's not as if you put yourself in danger or anything. That was my mistake."

Vicky paled even more before jumping to her feet. "Gotta go to the bathroom." She announced before almost running from the room, leaving Taylor alone with the phone.

Reaching for it, not feeling the least bit bad about what she'd just done to Vicky, Taylor just hoped she wasn't too late.


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 18**

Taylor's hands were shaking as she scrolled through the long list of contacts on Vicky's phone. Not used to the different phone, DJ's name flew up the screen, then out of view. A few clicks brought it back and she nervously hit call. The phone seemed to ring forever, and she was just about to hang up, assuming that DJ didn't have his phone with him, when he picked up. Not wanting to waste any time Taylor didn't give him the chance to start talking.

"DJ, don't say anything, just shut up and listen! It's a trap, they know you're pickin' up today." There, she'd told him. Now it was up to him. They could lift his supplier but he'd be okay. She waited for him to respond, but he didn't. "DJ?" He'd better not of hung up, she thought. "You still there? You can talk now." Nothing. Something wasn't right.

"VICKY? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Taylor jumped, dropping the phone onto the bed. That was not DJ. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She stared at the phone in horror, brain frozen, listening to the barely audible tirade coming from the mobile. That had sounded way too much like her dad. Either she'd called him by mistake, or she was too late. Unfortunately both would have the same result if he figured out it was her and not Vicky who had tried to warn DJ. He would kill her, slowly and painfully.

o

The click of the lock on the bathroom door brought Taylor back to her senses. She lunged for the phone, hitting the red end call button, before quickly reconnecting it to the charger and pushing it under the bed with her foot. A few seconds later, when Vicky re-entered the bedroom Taylor was pacing up and down between the two beds, praying the phone wouldn't ring.

"What's wrong?" Vicky asked, voice full of concern.

"Nothin'." Taylor knew she hd to get both of them out of there before her dad called back. She grabbed a hold of Vicky's wrist and pulled her towards the stairs. "Come on, might as well find out if we're grounded. No point sittin' up here if we're not."

The two of them ran down the stairs together, picking up speed, very much like an avalanche. They found Patricia in the kitchen.

"Mom?"

She looked up from the magazine she was reading.

"Can we go for a walk?" Both girls held their breath as they waited for an answer.

"No more fighting?"

Both shook their heads.

"You'll stay out of trouble and be back by dinner?"

This time they nodded in unison.

Taylor wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could have sworn that she could hear Vicky's phone vibrating on the floor upstairs, so as soon as her mom said they could go, she was out of there, Vicky right beside her.

o

Once out of sight of the store Taylor slowed to a stop.

"What were you running for?" Vicky asked.

Taylor stared at her, not sure what to say. Vicky was completely oblivious to the trouble she was in now, considering her dad had thought it was her calling DJ. There was no way in hell Taylor was going to own up to that one, besides it was Vicky's fault in the first place for creating the whole situation. Her self- justification did not remove the giant knot in her stomach, and she couldn't look her cousin in the eye. "Don't you want to go and find Patrick?"

"You don't mind if I leave you on your own?"

The fact that Vicky sounded sincere didn't help.

"No. I'm gonna track down Lucas. I'll catch up with you later."

"You sure?"

The knot grew bigger and tighter. "Go on, you know you can't wait to see him."

With a hasty "See you later." Vicky was gone and Taylor was left with a rapidly growing sense of panic. Walking in the opposite direction she headed towards the lake, clinging to the smallest hope that she might just be able to come up with a brainwave.

o

Back in DC Gibbs was furious. He was finding it extremely difficult to process what had just happened. DJ and his supplier had been picked up earlier in the day, and both he and DiNozzo had called into the precinct to see how the arrests had gone. The officer in charge had been more than willing to talk them through everything that had happened and to show them the drugs that had been seized. They were just about to leave the evidence lock-up when DJ's phone had started to vibrate in the small plastic bag. Curiosity made Tony check out the caller ID on the display, and when he announced it was Vicky there was no way Gibbs was not going to take that call. He just couldn't figure out what had possessed the girl. She could have blown the whole investigation. The first thing he did after she'd hung up on him was to call her back, but there had been no answer. The confrontation would have to wait, he would be in Stillwater soon enough. Until then, his niece would have plenty of time to stew.

o

No matter how hard she thought, Taylor couldn't come up with a solution for her newly created mess. Eventually she gave up. She was going to have to go with the only positive she had. The fact that her dad thought he'd been talking to Vicky. Taylor pushed herself to her feet and the thought from her mind. It was about time to find Katie and Lucas. If everything was going to blow up in her face she might as well make the most of whatever freedom she had left.

o

True to form Taylor made it home for dinner with only a minute or so to spare. She always hated the idea of wasting time by going home early, so she had arriving as close as she could to her curfew time, down to a fine art. Vicky was already seated at the table as Taylor double timed it into the kitchen and headed straight for the sink to wash her hands. Her mom wasn't watching so Taylor quickly dried her hands on her jeans and sat down opposite her cousin. Vicky was looking happy for the first time that day. It was fairly obvious that she wasn't the least bit worried about what DJ could be going through. Taylor was aware of what she was doing. She was trying to justify making Vicky take the blame for the phone call. So far it was working. All she had to do now was stay mad at her cousin and not mess everything up by feeling guilty.

o

"Your dad called earlier." Patricia announced once they had started eating.

Taylor almost knocked her glass of water over at her mom's revelation.

"Yeah?" Think innocent, think innocent, she told herself.

"He should be here sometime tomorrow."

Taylor glanced at Vicky. She looked as if she wanted to throw up. That was good, it made her look guilty.

"Does that mean DJ got arrested?" She asked, dropping her fork onto the plate. Taylor was trying to deflect any future suspicion from herself, but she could also feel the anger building up again at the thought of DJ being locked up somewhere on his own.

"Taylor, he was dealing drugs to kids." Her mom said softly as she reached over and rested a calming hand on top of hers.

Taylor pulled her hand away. "So! He didn't make them buy anthing, did he?"

"Taylor!" Her grandpa warned.

She glared at him before pushing her plate away and turning back to Patricia. "You didn't answer my question. Did DJ get arrested?"

Her mom sighed. "Yes, he was arrested but ..."

"YA HAPPY NOW?" Taylor yelled across at Vicky who was now close to tears.

"I ..." Vicky wasn't sure how to answer that, but it didn't matter, Taylor was on her feet and out of the kitchen before she could say anything else.

As Taylor stormed up the stairs she could hear her mom following close behind, so this time she didn't even get the satisfaction of slamming the bedroom door.

"You were warned about your temper earlier."

From her seat on the bed Taylor glowered up at her, but said nothing.

"And you're not being fair to Vicky."

She couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Well Vicky wasn't fair to DJ!"

"Taylor he was going to end up hurting or killing someone, and Vicky didn't want it to be you."

"WHOOP DE FUCKIN' DO!" VICKY THE HERO! GIVE THE GIRL A MEDAL!" Taylor had no idea where that outburst came from, but the look of concern on her mom's face was instantly replaced by what could only be described as anger.

"That's it!" Where're your pyjamas?" Patricia demanded.

Realising she might have pushed her mom just a little too far, Taylor pointed at the top drawer.

Patricia didn't comment on the state of the clothes carelessly emptied into the drawer, she just handed the pyjamas to her daughter. "Go put them on, and brush your teeth too."  
Even though it wasn't even seven thirty yet, the ominous glint in her mom's eyes stopped her arguing.

o

When a pyjama clad Taylor finally emerged from the bathroom her mom was waiting for her. "I know where my room is, you don't have to show me." She mumbled.

Patricia took a firm grip of Taylor's upper arm, but instead of being led back to her own room she found herself in her mom and dad's. Her mom started talking as she sat down on the double bed and pulled Taylor in front of her. "What did we talk about earlier?"

Taylor shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. She hated standing in this position. Not just because she usually ended up staring at the floor while someone heated up her backside, but it was also harder to avoid eye contact.

"My temper. But that's why I came up here. You're the one who followed me, remember!"

"I understand that you're worried about DJ, but you can't keep taking it out on Vicky. All she wanted to was to protect you."

That was something Taylor did not need to know. She pouted. "I don't want to talk about it anymore!"

"Well I want you to think about it. You need to think very carefully about where your loyalties lie. With DJ, who's nearly killed you on more than one occasion, or Vicky who only wanted to keep you safe.

Not gonna happen Taylor thought. "You done tryin' to make me feel guilty? Can I go now?" She tried to step away, but her mom wasn't going to let her get away that easily, and instead of storming off to her bedroom she found herself upside down.

"Not yet." Patricia replied as she held her struggling daughter firmly in place.

"What did I do?" Only Taylor could behave the way she had, and then ask that question.

"Well, there's your attitude for a start." She landed half a dozen smacks in quick succession.

Yelping, Taylor threw her hand back, in an attempt to stop any further swats making contact.

"Move your hand Taylor." Her mom warned.

Her pyjamas weren't exactly providing a lot in the way of protection, but she didn't want to lose them, so Taylor pulled her hand out of the way.

"There's also your language." Another six were delivered, just as fast as the first.

Then just as quickly Taylor was on her feet again. The swats had been hard enough to make her eyes water, but she wasn't crying.

"You can go to bed now."

Taylor turned to walk away, but her mom stopped her. "You can sleep in here tonight with me. I don't want to have to break up any fights in the middle of the night." She pulled back the quilt for her.

"Why do I have to ..." Noticing her mom's expression Taylor abandoned any thought of complaining. Her butt was already stinging, and from the looks of it her mom was prepared to add to it. "Fine." She climbed into bed. "I gotta warn you, sometimes I kick in my sleep."

Covering her up, Patricia leant down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, seemingly unconcerned by the thinly veiled threat. "I should warn you too then."

"About what?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Sometimes I spank in my sleep."


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 19**

When Patricia returned after dealing with Taylor she found Vicky curled up at the end of the couch, still visibly upset.

"She hates me, doesn't she?" Vicky whispered.

Patricia sat down beside her and took her hand. "She doesn't hate you Vicky. Taylor tends to see things in black or white. It's just that sometimes she gets confused. She'll figure it out eventually."

"You mean if she doesn't kill me first."

She squeezed the girl's hand. "Come on, she's not that bad, besides she'll settle down when your uncle Jethro gets here."

Vicky groaned. "Something else to look forward to."

"What do you mean? I thought you liked your uncle."

"I do, but Taylor told me what he's gonna do to me for getting into trouble." Vicky freed her hand and picked up a cushion, hugging it tightly.

"Oh she did, did she?" It was a pretty safe bet that whatever she'd said it wasn't out of concern for her cousin.

Vicky nodded.

It sounded as if she was going to have to keep a closer eye on little miss Taylor. "And just what did she tell you he was going to do?"

Blushing, Vicky shrugged. "Strap me hard enough to leave welts, the way he did to her for taking drugs."

Patricia was shocked. "And you believed that?"

"Well, yeah. She wanted to show me the welts, she said they were still there even after all that time."

"Vicky, Jethro might of used the strap, but he would never hit her that hard and he certainly wouldn't have left her with bruises. She was just trying to scare you. Besides, he's not angry with you. He might have been when he found out what you were up to, but that was only because you could have ended up getting hurt. Your uncle knows you did what you did for the right reasons, and it's not exactly something you'll do again.

"So I'm not in trouble?" Vicky looked as if she was about to cry.

Moving closer Patricia put her arm around the girl's shoulders. "No you're not in trouble, so stop worrying."

Vicky managed a small grin. "Should have called her bluff on the welts. How'd she know I wouldn't check?"

"She didn't. Taylor doesn't think that far ahead." She stood up. "I'll go and have a word with her now."

"NO!'" Vicky sat upright. "Aunt Patricia, that'll only make it worse if I get her into trouble. Please, just leave it."

She thought for a few moments. Even though she'd like to do nothing more than to set Taylor straight on a few things, Vicky was probably right. Hopefully after a good night's sleep Taylor's attitude towards her cousin would have improved, and if not she could always let Jethro step in. He should be able to convince her to get her act together pretty quickly.

Finally Patricia nodded. "Okay, I'll leave it for now." Time for a change of subject, Vicky needed cheered up. "So how was Patrick?"

o

Going to bed early for Taylor was torture. There wasn't much of a chance that she was actually going to fall asleep, and it wouldn't help knowing that her dad would be showing up soon. She tried lying on her back, but that was no good, so she switched to her side. Then the other one, before flipping over onto her stomach and then onto her back again. Nothing was going to work. Taylor kicked the quilt off in a small fit of temper. It wasn't fair expectin' someone to sleep this early. Climbing out of bed she made her way over to the window and peeked through the curtains. It was still bright out there, and although there weren't many people around Taylor was certain she could have found something to occupy herself. Letting the curtain fall back into place she padded to the door and opened it, just enough to listen. Taylor could hear canned laughter coming from the TV. They were probably all down there watching something good while she was going out of her mind with boredom. Opening the door further she slipped out and tiptoed over to the stairs. Taylor stood there for a couple of seconds, trying to listen before sitting down on the top step. This position didn't keep her happy for long, and before she knew it Taylor was hovering just outside the open living room door, where she could just about see the TV. Her grandpa was in his chair, hidden by a newspaper, while Vicky and her mom were snuggled up together on the couch, watching the small screen. A sharp pang of jealously caught Taylor off guard. Vicky was sitting where she should be, and she glared at the back of her cousin's head. Unfortunately her mom must have had some sort of built in 'glare radar' because she immediately sat up straight and looked behind her.

"You're supposed to be in bed." Her mom told her as if she'd forgotten where she should be.

Her grandpa lowered his paper and peered over his glasses at her.

"It's too early, I can't sleep." Encouraged by the fact that she hadn't been escorted straight up the stairs, swatted, and put back into bed, which is exactly what her dad would of done, Taylor edged right up to the back of the couch.

"Go back to bed Taylor, now."

"But I'm not tired." She whined, eyes drifting away from her mom, towards the TV screen. The distraction proved to be a costly mistake. Taylor yelped in surprise as a hand made contact with her butt. She stared at her mom, not quite sure how she'd managed to move so quickly from where she'd been sitting. Taylor took a precautionary step back. "You don't need to get violent!" She protested, more at the indignity of being smacked in front of Vicky than the fact that it hurt.

Patricia didn't seem to be open to any suggestions right now. "Last chance Taylor." She warned.

Taylor nervously glanced at her cousin as she tried to figure out just what her mom was threatening her with. It only clicked when Patricia shrugged and turned towards the kitchen. Taylor wasted no time hightailing it up the stairs and throwing herself into bed. She didn't care what Vicky thought of her backing down, she was not going to risk being anywhere near that wooden spoon.

o

It was early and Patricia and Vicky were both still sound asleep as Taylor raided the kitchen. She wanted to avoid everyone, including her dad when he showed up so she had no intention of coming back for lunch. Reaching for the door handle Taylor almost made a clean getaway. Almost!

"Just where do you think you're sneaking off to?" Her grandfather demanded.

"Not sneakin' anywhere grandpa, just goin' out."

"Does your mom know?"

Taylor tried hard to keep her temper under control. She suspected that her grandpa had been itchin' to get his hands on her since the fight with Vicky. "She's still in bed, and I'm not grounded anymore."

Knocking from the store distracted both of them.

"That'll be the papers." He seemed reluctant to leave her, but didn't have a choice. "You can't go anywhere without letting your mom know."

Taylor didn't speak, but she did move away from the door. He must have been confident enough that she wasn't going anywhere, because he went through to the store to check the delivery.

As soon as her grandfather was out of the room Taylor grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from one of the drawers and scrawled a note. 'MOM, GONE OUT – BACK AT DINNER. TAYLOR'. Folding it in half she set it right in the middle of the table where her mom couldn't miss it. There! Now she would know. Pleased that the problem was so easily solved, Taylor slipped quietly out the back door with her bag of supplies and twelve hours of freedom stretching out in front of her.

o

When Taylor returned at dinnertime she was disappointed that her dad hadn't arrived yet. Not that she wanted to see him, she was still pissed with him about what he'd done to DJ, but she had been hoping that the whole confrontation thing with Vicky about the phone call would be over and done with by now. Her grandpa wasn't very happy either, about her taking off earlier and seemed to have quite a lot to say about the matter. Taylor 'tuned him out' as she picked at the food on her plate and studied her cousin carefully. Vicky didn't look worried anymore, and according to her 'freak Vicky out' plan she should be. Maybe she'd missed something, being away all day, or Vicky had forgotten she was in trouble.

"Dad still comin' today?" She directed the question at her mom, momentarily forgetting that her grandpa was still lecturing her.

"Taylor! Are you listening to me?" Her grandfather barked at her.

Now she remembered. "What else did you want me to do? I left a note didn't I?" She mumbled back, more interested in her mom's answer and Vicky's subsequent reaction to it.

"He should be here soon Taylor, and don't speak to your grandpa like that!"

Vicky's expression didn't change, she wasn't stressed out or worried anymore. Not good. She needed her to look guilty, or at least worried. Now her dad would take one look at Vicky and know she had do idea what was going on. Then he would turn his attention to suspect number two, her, and the guilt would be written all over her face. There was nothing else for it. She was going to have to risk winding her up again.

Taylor kicked her under the table to get her attention. Perhaps a little too hard, but she didn't cry out. "What are you lookin' so happy about?" She backed up the question with one of her best threatening glares. "Send someone else to jail today, did ya?"

"TAYLOR!" Both her mom and grandpa warned at the same time.

Satisfied Vicky was upset again, Taylor's appetite returned, and ignoring the angry looks being aimed in her direction, speared a piece of chicken with her fork.

o

Figuring she'd pushed her luck enough for one day Taylor started the washing up without having to be reminded that it was her turn. Vicky didn't hang around for long once she'd finished eating, not that she'd ended up eating much after Taylor's outburst.

Facing the sink Taylor didn't see her grandpa leave, but she heard him follow Vicky, and hoped he wasn't going to try and make her feel better. She waited for her mom to leave too, but that didn't happen and Taylor could feel her eyes boring into her back. Her mom was pissed again. Jeez, it didn't take much these days to make her mad.

"It stops now Taylor. Do I make myself clear?"

Taylor rinsed the bubbles off a plate and stacked it in the drainer, before fishing through the water for another one. "What stops?"

When Patricia answered it was from right behind her. "The way you're treating your cousin for a start."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me Taylor. I know you've been trying to scare her and make her think she's in trouble."

Taylor tensed, but didn't deny anything. At least that explained why Vicky hadn't looked worried tonight. That girl couldn't keep her big mouth shut.

"As for your attitude, if there's not a drastic improvement you're going to end up spending an awful lot of time indoors, and the way you're pushing him, your grandpa will make sure you have sore backside to remind you why you're there."

The last of the soapy water gurgled down the plughole, and Taylor reached for the towel to dry her hands before turning.

Patricia was blocking her line of retreat, and cupped Taylor's chin in her hand gently tipping her head up to make eye contact. "I think it's about time you apologized."

"To who?" Taylor freed her chin with a shake of her head.

"Vicky and your grandpa." She stated, as if it was a perfectly reasonable request.

It was not. Vicky deserved everything she got, and as for her grandfather, if he'd just leave her the hell alone everything would be fine. Folding her arms she stared defiantly at her mom. "No way."

Patricia didn't lose her temper, or try to argue with her. "That's your decision. If you don't want to apologize you can just go on up to bed."

Taylor did not want to go to bed early again, but she wanted to apologize even less. Without saying another word she left her mom standing in the kitchen and stalked up to her room. Not bothering to brush her teeth, they could fall out for all she cared, Taylor pulled on her pyjamas and slipped under her quilt. At least after her early start she was actually tired this time. She closed her eyes. Hopefully when she woke up in the morning Vicky would be the one in trouble, and she would be out of here early enough this time to avoid everyone.

o

Gibbs arrived about an hour after Taylor had taken herself off to bed. He received a warm welcome from everyone, but it was Vicky's reception combined with his daughter's absence that interested him.

The smile she gave him was genuine and Vicky didn't seem to be the least bit worried by his appearance. Sighing he went to fetch himself some coffee. As usual this wasn't as simple as he'd thought it was..

He took a few hasty gulps, burning his mouth in the process, before settling on the arm of the couch beside his wife.

"Where's Taylor?" He asked, still clinging to the hope there was a perfectly innocent explanation behind the fact she was missing.

"Bed." Patricia replied before whispering something about hot chocolate into Vicky's ear. There went that small hope. No one spoke until they heard the kitchen door closing behind Vicky.

"I take it she didn't just fancy an early night. What'd she do this time?"

Jack couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "That girl is out of control Leroy. She's wilful, disobedient, she's ….. she's …" He shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. He was trying not to lose his temper completely. "I'll go and give Vicky a hand."

"Has she been that bad?" He hadn't seen his father that worked up in quite a while.

"She's really managed to get under his skin today, but it's her attitude towards Vicky I'm more worried about."

By the time Patricia had finished relating Taylor's exploits, and he in turn explained about the phone call, Jethro's coffee was cold. He needed a refill, and a chat with his niece.

o

He found Vicky in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate with Jack. "Can you give us a few minutes dad?"

Jethro poured more coffee before sitting down opposite her.

He cut straight to the chase. "Did you use you mobile yesterday to warn DJ about the investigation?"

Both her expression and her body language told him immediately that she hadn't, but she didn't answer. He could almost see the cogs turning in Vicky's head as she realised what Taylor had done.

"Yes."

He didn't believe her.

"You did, did you?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Vicky nodded, secretly hoping that if she took the rap Taylor would finally forgive her.

"Okay. I just need to ask you a few more questions then."

Now she looked worried. "Am I under arrest?"

"You interfered with a criminal investigation didn't you? That's illegal."

"Oh." Vicky chewed nervously on her lip, but didn't retract her confession.

"Who answered the phone?"

"Huh?"

"Who answered the phone Vicky?"

"DJ."

Vicky lowered her eyes to the table, as he stared her out.

"I don't think Taylor deserves your loyalty right now, do you?"

She looked up, surprised.

"I know it was Taylor. DJ didn't answer the phone, I did."

"Sorry."

"I don't think taking the blame for something you didn't do is going to fix anything."

"I just don't want her to hate me anymore." She stared at the last marshmallow floating in her hot chocolate.

"Just give it a bit more time Vicky, that's all you can do. Taylor's the one in the wrong, not you. Just try not to worry about it." He nodded towards the living room. "The movie's about to start, you I'm sure you want to miss the start."

With yet another sigh he made his way upstairs to check on his daughter. Jethro found her fast asleep, on her stomach, one leg hanging off the edge of the bed. It couldn't be comfortable, but she was definitely out for the count and was proving the popular theory that the guilty sleep. It was hard to understand how she could look so innocent while sleeping and yet be such a brat when she was awake. Gently he lifted her leg back onto the mattress before taking a seat on Vicky's bed and watching her for a few moments. He'd missed her, even though she could be a right royal pain in the ass at times. Tomorrow was not going to be an easy day for either of them.


	20. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 20**

_** Okay, I have to confess I was extremely lazy in the last chapter as far as Vicky was concerned, so hopefully this chapter will clear everything up. **_

Staring down at the girl asleep in the bed beside hers Taylor tried to determine if Vicky had been crying. No tear stained cheeks, no tissues, no evidence in fact whatsoever that her cousin had gone to bed upset. Taylor really wished she knew how Vicky did it. No matter what she'd done, or might have done, she always seemed to get away with it. On the other hand she herself only had to think about doing something wrong and she was up to her neck in it. Taylor briefly considered whacking her over the head with her pillow, but even though it would be extremely satisfying it would put an end to any hope she had of escaping undetected. Vicky would keep. Leaving the girl to her dreams, Taylor retrieved her backpack from under the bed and as quietly as she could, made her way down to the kitchen for the day's supplies.

o

Jethro was up early, he always was, but he was late enough to find a note from his daughter propped up in the middle of the table. He checked his watch. It had just gone six o'clock, he hadn't heard her moving around, so that meant Taylor had been gone for at least half an hour. By now she could be anywhere, so there was no point rushing off to find her. Switching on the coffee maker he sat down at the table and re-read the note. It didn't take long, the message was short and to the point. 'GONE OUT, TAYLOR.' Not exactly overflowing with information to help find her, but that didn't matter, after all he knew this area better than Taylor and the places she'd be drawn to. It shouldn't be hard tracking down his fugitive daughter.

o

By lunchtime Jethro was beginning to think Taylor actually knew Stillwater better than he did, and by dinnertime he was convinced of it. There hadn't been a sign of her, or Lucas for that matter anywhere. When her curfew came and passed anger quickly transformed into concern. This time Patricia helped in the search, checking a little further afield in the car, while he covered the same ground he'd covered three or four times already. He was just about to give up on the abandoned Anderson place when he spotted movement high up in one of the tall trees at the rear of the property. Gibbs kept calling out her name and whistling as he edged towards the trees, but the only response was more movement, this time from another tree. He assumed that was Lucas, right now Taylor would be motionless. All movement had stopped completely by the time he reached the trees, but instead of looking up he sat down at the foot of the tree Taylor was in. The only sounds that could be heard were coming from the birds, angry that their territory had been invaded. Jethro didn't speak until the birds had settled down again and he'd sent his wife a quick text message to let her know she could stop searching.

"Don't make me shoot you out of the tree." He waited for the pair to climb down.

Lucas was the first to hit the ground, and he looked guiltily at him before looking up towards Taylor as she too began to climb down. He could hear her mumbling as she worked her way towards him.

"Lucas you idiot, he doesn't have a gun."

Lucas must have heard too because the boy blushed and stuck his hands in his pockets.

On his feet now, Jethro reached up when Taylor was close enough and lowered her the rest of the way. She shot an annoyed glare at Lucas before turning her attention back to him.

"What are you doin' out here?" She asked as she asked as she took her bag from Lucas who'd fetched it from behind a nearby tree.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Left a note, didn't I?"

"Uh huh. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Taylor shook her head and held her empty wrist up as evidence. "No watch."

"It's almost eight thirty."

Lucas grabbed his own bag. "Crap! I'm late too! Gotta go!" With that he started to run back in the direction of town.

"That's why I'm hungry." His daughter stated simply as she watched her friend disappear.

"You're not the only one. Your mom's out looking for you too."

"Surprised she noticed I wasn't around. Wasn't Vicky there to….."

He watched as annoyance flashed across his daughter's face just before she seemed to realize what she was saying and abruptly changed the subject.

"We goin' home or what?" Taylor started walking.

o

It only took a few strides to catch up with his daughter, and he fell into step beside her. "What did you mean by that?"

"Nothin'." Taylor sped up making it clear she didn't want to talk about it.

Putting a hand on her shoulder he stopped her. "Yes you did."

He wasn't surprised when she shrugged it off, but he wasn't expecting the anger that came with it.

"I'm not talkin' to you, SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Taylor what ….."

She cut him off. "It's alright, I'll go to bed early, wouldn't want to get in your way too!" As soon as the last word was out she bolted.

o

Taylor knew she didn't stand a chance of outrunning her father, but she didn't care. When she ran she stopped thinking, except about her next step, and right now that was all she wanted. She had thought she'd have been angrier at her dad when he turned up, because of DJ, but she hadn't. Taylor had been glad to see him, she'd missed him, but for some reason even she couldn't understand she would have preferred to be mad at him. So she ran until she felt herself being lifted off her feet.

"What're you running for?"

Taylor had no idea what to tell him so her mouth took over. "I'm hungry."

"Uh huh." He wasn't letting go of her t-shirt as they started walking again. "You're going to have to come up with something better than that, because when we get home I want to know exactly what's been being on, and you're the one who's going to tell me."

o

Taylor was quiet for the remainder of the walk home. Jethro didn't ask any more questions, he was giving her the chance to think. When his dad and Patricia had described her behaviour they had both said she was bad tempered and angry. To him, right now anyway, she wasn't angry, she was confused. It might take a while, but he'd get the truth out of her eventually.

o

When they arrived back he led Taylor straight into the kitchen. The others had already eaten, so they had the room all to themselves. Taylor dumped her bag on the floor and kicked it under the table before sitting down.

Tidy as usual he thought, but didn't mention it. Instead he put her dinner into the microwave and regarded her carefully. Deep in thought she seemed to be in a world of her own. It just might be harder than he'd thought to get her to talk, it was always easier to get information from a temper filled Taylor than a withdrawn one. The microwave dinged and brought both out of their thoughts. Food first, then they could talk.

o

Taylor did eat, but not much. Jethro set the two plates beside the sink. "Alright, go say goodnight to your mom and grandpa." At first he thought she was going to refuse, but she pushed her chair back and he followed her as she made her way into the living room. He watched from the doorway as she hugged his father. Taylor turned to where her mom was sitting with Vicky and for a split second her expression completely changed, it was so fast he almost missed it. Stopping dead Taylor glared at Vicky before storming past him and up the stairs. His daughter was jealous.

o

When Taylor saw Vicky leaning up against her mom, taking her place again, it felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. The jealousy hit her so hard it took her breath away. Hardly aware of what she was doing Taylor pushed past her dad, and didn't stop until she reached her bedroom. Closing the door behind her she reached up and flicked the little bar across to lock the door before she slid down and sat on the floor. Sitting down with her back against the door Taylor pulled her knees up in front of her and started to cry.

o

Still leaning against the door when her dad tried to open it Taylor ignored the movement of the handle. He hadn't followed her up immediately, taking the opportunity to talk to Patricia.

"Let me in Taylor." This was precisely the reason why he had no locks on any of the doors at home. He juggled the handle again. "Come on, I don't want to talk to you from out here."

Taylor sniffed. "Not talkin' to anyone. Just leave me alone!"

"Not going anywhere, now open the door. I really don't want to have to go and get a ladder." He warned.

She glanced towards the window. He would too, he'd done it before. Giving her eyes a quick rub with the heels of her hands she stood up and unlocked the door, then retreated to the safety of her bed.

o

Taylor watched warily as her father entered her room. He glanced up at the lock as he quietly closed the door. It was a dead cert it would be gone before tomorrow night. He didn't mention her locking the door though, just motioned for her to shuffle further onto the bed so that he could sit beside her.

"Okay, spill."

"Already said I'm not talkin' to you."

"You haven't told me why."

"You know why, you sent DJ to jail."

"He's a drug dealer Taylor, besides it's the supplier the police were really after. DJ's just a kid and will probably end up with a kick in the ass to straighten him out. It's highly unlikely he'll actually go to jail."

Taylor folded her arms defensively but kept quiet.

"I don't understand why you think you need to stick up for him."

She shrugged. "I like him."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you like him, all he's done for you so far is get you into trouble."

"He's funny, besides it doesn't matter what you want, DJ can always get it for you."

"Like what?" He demanded.

Probably a little too much information she thought. "Just stuff."

"And does he get you this 'stuff' for free?"

Taylor shook her head. "Course not, except for the last time."

"That would make him a dealer Taylor, not a friend, and if he doesn't get his act together now he never will. You don't want him to end up spending his life in and out of prison do you?"

"No, but …" She didn't complete the sentence, realising just in time that asking him where she was going to get 'stuff' from now, probably wouldn't go down well.

"But what?"

"Nothin'"

"Just in case you're considering finding another DJ, don't. I can promise you it wouldn't be worth it."

Not confirming or denying anything Taylor kept her mouth clamped tightly shut.

When a few minutes had passed and her dad hadn't said anything further Taylor assumed he was done. She wanted to be on her own. "I'm tired. Can I go to bed now?"

"I'm not surprised you're tired, you might as well be on the night shift." He didn't move. So that was a no then she thought.

"You want to tell me what else is bugging you?"

Taylor looked up at him, eyes narrowed. How'd he know that when she'd just figured it out herself. "No." She tried to move further away from him, but an arm quickly placed around her shoulder stopped her.

"You really think you can hide it?" That earned him a glare, which was good. With a little bit of temper her mouth might start running off on it's own accord. "Why have you been giving Vicky such a hard time?"

"Who told you that?" Not that she had to ask.

"So it's not true?"

"If you ain't answering neither am I." Taylor tried to escape from the bed again. "Will you LET ….. ME … UP?"

"Your mom and grandpa told me, and you're not going anywhere."

Taylor stopped struggling, if he wasn't gonna let her up she wasn't going anywhere. "Yeah, well they would say that!" She mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

Frustration building up Taylor was starting to lose it. "Cause Vicky can't do anything wrong can she! Oh no, I only gotta sneeze and I'm in trouble. When I screwed up with the ecstasy I get shipped off here, on my own, you whale on me with that bloody strap, and then I gotta spend the whole week workin!" If I'd of done what Vicky did you'd have freaked out, but Vicky, she's just a fuckin' hero ain't she! All she ends up with is a longer vacation!" There, she felt better now she's said it.

Ignoring the language he asked. "Is that why you were going to let me think she was the one to try and warn DJ?"

She'd forgotten about that part. "Serves her right, since she's shown up I keep getting sent to bed early, for nothin' compared to what she did…." The thought of Vicky and her mom together raised it's ugly head in her mind again. They all just want me out of the way!" She'd had enough. "I wanna go to bed now."

"No. So you'd feel better if Vicky was punished?"

Taylor looked at him as if her was a complete idiot. "That's just dumb!"

Jethro was confused now. "Then what?"

"I don't want to be in trouble either, if she gets away with everything, so should I.

He almost laughed, but Taylor was serious.

"Taylor the only reason Vicky wasn't punished was because your mom felt sorry for her. Vicky was really upset by your reaction, hell Taylor she was only trying to protect you and you were going to beat the tar out of her for doing it."

"Yeah, well I didn't ask her to."

"No you didn't, but she did it anyway, just like last night when she was going to take the blame for calling DJ, even though she thought she would not only be punished but arrested as well."

It took a couple of seconds for it to sink in.

"Why would she do that?" It didn't make any sense.

Taylor felt him shrug.

"Said she didn't want you to hate her anymore."

Not liking the guilt that was building up she mumbled. "Probably lying."

"Not a lie Taylor."

"Suppose she hates me now, huh?"

"Nope."

"She doesn't?"

"No." He tapped her under the chin and she looked up at him. "Still think Vicky's trying to steal your mom?"

She shook her head, more than a little embarrassed, but didn't deny it or ask how he knew what went on in her head. "Still mad at me for trying to call DJ?"

"Oh yeah."

Taylor could sense a lot more work coming her way in the immediate future. "You missed me though, didn't you?"

"I missed you."


	21. Chapter 21

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 21**

Jethro felt Taylor relax and lean into him, her hand slipping into his.

"So were you two at the Anderson place all day?"

"Yeah. Gotta say you're not very observant, you know for a sniper and all."

"Oh so you're funny now are you? I should have shot you out of the tree."

A small laugh escaped from his daughter. "You should of seen the look on Lucas's face when you said that. I thought he was gonna pee his pants."

"Anything else you want to confess while you're at it?"

"Rule one dad." Taylor managed to jet out before yawning.

"You still haven't told me what rule one is yet, have you?"

"Nuh huh." She left it at that.

"Your grandpa said you fancied yourself as a Buddhist." Jethro wished he'd been there to see his dad's reaction when he realised what she was doing. Taylor had figured out a long time ago that religion was an easy way to wind her grandfather up.

"He told you that, huh? Kinda went off that idea."

"Said he talked to you about Kelly too." He'd expected her to tense up and become defensive, but there was no change in her body language. "You okay with what he told you?"

She nodded.

"You wanna ask me anything else?"

Taylor didn't answer immediately. He was really hoping that he wasn't going to have to explain everything to her. He still thought she too young for the whole truth just yet.

"Did Kelly really like Sunday school? Or was grandpa trying to trick me into going?"

"Yeah she liked it." He was relieved at the simplicity of the question. "Anything else?"

She shook her head as she opened his hand and traced the lines on his palm with her finger. "Nope. Grandpa explained it good." Taylor had spent enough time worrying about her sister and didn't want to start all over again.

Jethro breathed a sigh of relief, and both sat soaking up the silence before he shook his head, he'd almost nodded off. "You need to put your pyjamas on before you fall asleep.

There was no response from his daughter. Too late.

o

The first words out of her grandpa's mouth when Taylor showed her face in the kitchen the next morning were, "You needn't be planning on leaving a note and disappearing again."

Taylor grabbed a packet of cereal and sat down. Reaching into the box she lifted a handful out. "Not going anywhere." She just managed to get out around a mouthful of dry loops. It wouldn't be worth the risk now her dad was back.

He tutted loudly when he saw what she was doing before setting a bowl and the milk carton in front of her. "Eat it properly."

"Where's dad? There was no way he was still in bed at this time.

"He went for a run."

Filling her bowl up Taylor managed to get almost as much cereal and milk on the table as in the bowl.

When Jack gave her a disapproving look she shrugged. "It's not as messy if you eat it straight from the box." The milk wasn't her idea after all.

"Am I workin' in the store today?"

"It's Sunday Taylor."

"Sorry, I forgot." She wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to yank his chain though. "Do you really go to hell just for working on an Sunday?"

"How many times Taylor? No you don't go to hell for working on a Sunday."

It was too easy. She tried to hide her smirk. "You don't have to go all grumpy. I was just checkin' it hadn't changed."

"Well maybe if you want to keep up to date with any new developments you should come to church with me."

"That's a bit drastic ….."

"I think that's a great idea dad." Jethro stepped into the room. He knew exactly what his daughter had been trying to do.

Taylor's head snapped round. Her dad didn't look as if he was joking.

"We'll all go."

Jack beamed happily. Taylor did not.

"I'm going to hit the shower, Taylor you can go and wake your cousin, you wouldn't want us to be late."

Her father vanished just as quickly as he'd appeared, leaving her dumbstruck. She'd walked right into that one.

o

Vicky was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the torture that lay ahead. Gently shaking the girl's shoulder Taylor waited for her to sit up before she broke the bad news. "We gotta go to church."

"Huh?"

"Church, we gotta go."

"You're kidding me, right?"

Taylor shook her head.

"I'm not going, no way, no how!" Vicky was on her feet now, pulling on a pair of jeans.

"Don't thing we've got much of a choice." Taylor watched in amazement as Vicky hopped about on one leg trying to pull on a shoe.

Vicky was fully dressed now. "What? You're not actually going are you?"

"Well where are you going?" Taylor was unsure now.

"Does it matter?" Vicky headed to the door, then stopped and looked back. "You comin' or not?"

"There was no way she was going to church if Vicky wasn't, so with a quick nod Taylor followed her cousin out of the house and towards the lake.

o

Instead of heading towards the water Vicky took a sharp turn towards the trees, and didn't stop until they were in a clearing. She sat down on a fallen tree before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"How come you're not mad at me?" Taylor finally built up enough courage to ask her.

Vicky drew deeply on the cigarette before passing it to Taylor. "Dunno. Suppose I should of kept my nose out, or checked with you first. I am sorry I upset you."

Taylor grinned at her. "A good dealer's hard to find you know." Taking a drag she passed the cigarette back. "But I'm sorry too. You gotta admit though, taking the rap for warning DJ, that was just plain suicidal."

Vicky picked up a small rock and tossed it in Taylor's general direction. "It was a hell of a lot safer that waiting for you to ambush me."

The church bells started ringing and both of them looked guiltily towards town.

"How pissed do you think they're going be?" Vicky asked as she crushed out the cigarette out with her foot.

"No idea, but there's no point worrying about it until we have to go home." Taylor stood up. She'd sat still for long enough. "So, what're we gonna do?"

o

"FREEZE!"

Taylor and Vicky almost managed to make it to the bottom of the stairs before being collared by Jethro.

"Oh, hi dad." Taylor was trying hard to look innocent and failing miserably.

"Don't you 'hi dad' me!" He pointed towards the living room.

Taylor took a few steps, then stopped, causing Vicky to bang into her. She'd realised he was waiting for them to walk past.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked, exasperation clear.

"Nothin'." Sticking her hands firmly into the back pockets of her cargo pants she edged along the wall.

Vicky gave her cousin a strange look, confused by her behaviour, until Jethro grabbed Taylor and turned her sideways.

"Hands."

Taylor groaned, but removed her hands and braced herself.

Cringing at the smack, Vicky now knew exactly what to expect, and both girls entered the living room with stinging backsides.

Feeling just a tiny bit guilty when she spotted her grandpa in his chair, Taylor tried to ignore him as she sat down.

Vicky soon joined her.

"Right you two, let's have it!"

The older girl spoke first. "Sorry."

Jethro turned to Taylor. "What about you?"

"I decided that I agree with grandpa. You shouldn't work on a Sunday."

Jack took off his glasses and set them on the arm of the chair.

"Going to church is not work Taylor." Her dad informed her.

"It is for the minister, and he should know better. He's supposed to practice what he preaches."

Her grandpa didn't look very impressed by her reasoning and was just about to get up when Jethro stopped him.

"It's alright dad. Taylor and Vicky will both be there for the evening service." He said with a warning glare. "Won't you girls?"

An elbow in the ribs courtesy of her cousin stopped Taylor from objecting and they both nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Good. Now that's settled you can go help Patricia with lunch."

"Isn't that working too? I…" his daughter started to object, but she didn't finish. Vicky grabbed a hold of Taylor's arm, and pulled her from the room.

o

"This has gotta be child abuse." Taylor protested as the four of them walked along the sidewalk to the church. Just to make matters worse her dad was holding her hand as if she was six years old. There was no hope of a second escape.

"It's not abuse Taylor."

Taylor glanced behind at her grandpa to make sure he wasn't listening before whispering up to her father. "You're not gonna think that when you hear the choir."

"Not going to talk your way out of this one. Now, if I hear one more word from you I'll sign you up for the choir. I'm sure they're always looking for new people.

o

Taylor had been surprised when Vicky and herself were allowed to sit in the pew directly in front of her parents. She assumed this was a good thing until she tried talking to her cousin and discovered the real reason behind their good fortune. Not only was her dad in the perfect position to watch what she was doing, but he could hear what she was saying too. Her conversation with Vicky was cut short when her father leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

"Like singing do you?"

Mumbling a hasty "no" she folded her arms and tried to find something else to keep her from going crazy. Eventually her eyes settled on the choir, hymn books in hand, ready to go. Taylor recognised the first few notes being played on the ancient pipe organ. It was one of the slower ones, and she let out a moan. There must be at least eighty verses. Well maybe not eighty, but way too many.

The choir had not improved since she'd been forced to listen to their last practice. Taylor, now on her feet along with everyone else, twisted round and aimed an 'I told you so' glare at her dad. He did not look guilty though, just raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to turn back again.

Vicky, standing beside her might have looked the picture of innocence from behind, but she was having a difficult time trying to keep her giggles under control. One of the choir was singing louder than the others and must have been completely tone deaf. The problem was that the more she thought how inappropriate laughing in church was, the funnier it became. By the time the choir sat down again and the minister told everyone they were going to pray Vicky had tears running down her cheeks and was biting her lip to stop herself from laughing. It was just as well the congregation had their eyes closed.

Seeing Vicky so close to losing it Taylor just couldn't resist the temptation of trying to push her over the edge. After checking everyone to make sure that their eyes were closed, Taylor nudged her cousin.

"Think that deserves a Mexican wave, don't you?" Standing up, Taylor raised her arms in the air.

Two things happened at once. Vicky spluttered and bolted out of the church, hand covering her mouth, and Taylor found herself lifted into the air and dropped none too gently onto the wooden benc between her mom and dad. It wasn't her fault, but the shock of being lifted and the impact of her rear on the hard surface made her cry out loudly.

"FU…!" She stopped herself from finishing, but it was too late. All eyes were now open and directed at her. "Fu…Fu…" she stuttered, not sure how to diffuse the situation. Then her brain kicked in. "Fu... ever and ever, amen."

o

Vicky didn't reappear, she just couldn't bring herself to walk back in again. Instead she waited outside on the top step. The thought of Taylor's Mexican wave and the look of horror on her face as she was lifted into the air kept setting her off again.

Inside Taylor was afraid to move, and for a long time, even though she wouldn't look up, was acutely aware of at least two pairs of eyes firmly aimed in her direction. It was flamin' typical though, now she was in trouble the rest of the service flew in.

The instant it was over she found herself being whisked out of the building. Her mom and dad weren't too keen on hanging around to shake hands with the minister. Taylor didn't ask why, there was no point. She had to grin when she was reunited with her cousin who had now regained her composure.

"Race ya back!" Taking off at a sprint she only made it about twenty feet before a whistle from her dad made her skid to a hault.

He crooked his finger at her, but didn't look mad, so slowly she walked back to him.

"Was only goin' home." She muttered as he took her hand.

"Well maybe this way you'll stay out of trouble."

"That was your fault, you scared the crap out of me. Thought I was sent for!"

"Uh huh. So that wasn't a Mexican wave then?"

"You were supposed to have your eyes closed."

"So were you."

Patricia hooked her arm through his. "Try controlling a whole classroom full of them."

"I have to work with DiNozzo, that's no walk in the park."

Vicky walking beside Taylor was having yet another attack of the giggles.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry, just you thinking God was plucking you out of church."

`'Hey! Don't encourage her!" Jethro warned . "Besides it's not God the pair of you have to worry about right now. You'd better start praying your grandpa sees the funny side."


	22. Chapter 22

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 22**

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Jackson roared the instant he set foot in the kitchen.

"Calm down dad." Jethro intentionally blocked the doorway. "Coffee's fresh."

For a moment he thought his father was going to ask him to move, but taking a deep breath Jack hooked his walking stick over the back of a chair and sat down at the table. After pouring two cups Jethro pulled out a chair directly opposite.

"You're not going to try and justify their disgraceful behaviour are you?"

"I just want to make sure you don't over react dad."

"Over react?"

"Yes dad. Over react. You need to keep everything in perspective. Taylor, and Vicky for that matter, don't have the same reverence when it comes to church and religion that you do."

"And whose fault is that?" He asked, giving Jethro one of those looks that still made him extremely uncomfortable.

"We've been through this before. When Taylor's older she can made her own decision about religion. It's hard enough as it is to get her into a church a few times a year, I'm not going to force it down her throat, she'd only dig her heels in further."

"You let that child get away with far too much, she runs rings round you."

"Come on, they just got a little bored, and some of it was my fault, I startled Taylor. You're lucky she caught herself on, she's perfectly capable of turning the air blue without even thinking about it."

"You make it sound as if you're proud of the fact your daughter swears like a trooper."

"I'm not, but I am proud that this time Taylor was able to stop herself, and considering the fact she thought it was God who grabbed her I don't think she did too badly. If she hadn't I'd have been lining right up behind you to get my hands on her."

Jack almost choked on his coffee. "She thought what?" He spluttered."

Jethro shook his head. "I know, it'll be a while before she lives that one down. But when it comes down to it they shouldn't have been fooling around, so if you want the pair of them to clean out the storage shed it should be enough to make them think twice about doing it again. That place hasn't been cleaned out in years.

His dad had never been one to make a quick decision, so Jethro waited patiently while he mulled it over. Finally the older man nodded and got to his feet.

"Alright. Where are they hiding?"

o

Taylor heard the initial "WHERE ARE THEY?" and was extremely tempted to make a run for it. Instead she moved closer to her mom on the couch. Any closer and she'd have been sitting on her lap. Vicky in turn shuffled closer to Taylor. From the sound of it her grandpa hadn't missed what had gone on in the church and wasn't exactly happy about it. They waited for him to storm into the living room, but it didn't happen, not immediately anyway.

When he finally did appear with Jethro close behind, he had a face like thunder. Vicky had the good sense to keep quiet. Her cousin did not.

"Nice singin' grandpa, all that practice must be workin'."

Taylor's comment just fired his temper back up. "What on earth did you two think you were playing at? That's no way to behave in a church!" He looked from one to the other, before pointing a finger accusingly at Taylor. "And you! You have no idea how lucky you are. If you'd have shouted that filthy word out in the Lord's house I'd have strapped your backside 'till you couldn't sit for a week!"

Taylor dropped her eyes guiltily. "I thought it was a pretty good save."

Her mom gave her a barely perceptible nudge.

"Sorry grandpa." She tried to look repentant, then tried harder when her dad glared at her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." Vicky added seriously.

"Well that's good to hear." Jackson responded. "But the two of you are still going to spend tomorrow morning working."

That didn't sound too bad, but Taylor decided it was time to spread the blame. She pointed to her dad who seemed to be getting away scot free. "What about him, it was his fault. If he hadn't have scared the sh.. life out of me I wouldn't have yelled. He was supposed to be prayin' like everyone else, not pickin' people up and droppin' them on their butt." Folding her arms she locked eyes with her father, trying to make him feel guilty.

"Well?" Jackson asked his son.

"Well what?" Jethro stopped glaring at Taylor and glanced at his father.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" He expanded.

"Are you serious?" They were ganging up on him.

Taylor was grinning now, and looking rather smug. "He wants to know what you gotta say for yourself, causin' all that trouble. You could have got all of us banned you know!"

The expression on her uncle's face made it impossible to hold back and Vicky started to laugh. When Patricia began to giggle Jethro wasn't sure which of the three females on the couch to glare at. He was still trying to decide who to target first when his dad's hand made contact with the back of his head. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough to get his attention.

"You should know better. Don't let it happen again." Jack warned before winking at the girls as he left the room. He'd only made it half way up the stairs before the house erupted in squeals and laughter. Taylor was paying dearly for her traitorous behaviour as she faced an onslaught of tickles.

o

Later that night Taylor wasn't interested in the TV, although she would watch just about anything, she drew the line at documentaries. They were too much like school. Instead she watched her grandfather. He'd changed out of his suit and was reading, but every now and again he would look up and shake his head. He was still a bit pissed. Giving up her prime position beside her mom Taylor went and stood in front of her grandpa. When he lowered his book she slipped onto his lap and rested her head on his chest.

"What ya reading?"

He opened the book again to show her. "It's about the war." As he started telling her about the aircraft carriers in the pictures Taylor let his voice wash over her. Sometimes her grandpa was like Ducky, he liked to talk, and right now Taylor was content enough to let him do exactly that.

o

Vicky and Taylor stood in the middle of the shed and just stared at the huge stacks of boxes and crates. This looked like the place where all the unsold or out of date goods came to die. It was absolutely filthy. Maybe they hadn't got off as easily as they'd thought.

Jackson poked his head in through the door. "What are you waiting for?" He wanted to make sure he got a full mornings work out of them.

Taylor picked up the broom and he left them to it.

"Are there spiders?" Vicky asked nervously.

Taylor looked up at the mass of webs covering the ceiling. "Nah, they're probably all dead." She was not gonna let Vicky wuss out and leave her with all the work. "Here." She passed the broom to her cousin. "You can do the floor and I'll take the crates." A little happier, Vicky started to sweep.

o

"Holy shit!" Taylor exclaimed from behind a tower of wooden crates.

Vicky froze. "What is it? Is it a spider?" She was psyching herself up to run to somewhere safer if the need arose.

"No."

Curious now she knew that insects were not involved, Vicky edged closer. Taylor was kneeling in front of a large metal box. Peering over Taylor's shoulder she tried to see what was so interesting. "Its just fireworks Taylor." She said, sounding slightly disappointed. "Small ones."

Taylor couldn't understand why Vicky wasn't excited. "Don't you ever check out YouTube? There's an awesome video where some guys blow up a tree."

"With those fireworks you'd be lucky to blow off a few twigs. Besides they look kinda old so they probably wouldn't even explode."

Narrowing her eyes at Vicky's stupidity, Taylor sighed. "Don't be such an idiot!"

They found a tree with a hollow and packed it full of powder so the whole tree was like a giant pipe bomb."

"No Taylor." Vicky didn't like the way her cousin's mind was working.

"No what?"

"You're not doing that."

"Why?" Taylor was disappointed Vicky didn't share her enthusiasm.

"Way too dangerous, the clues in the 'bomb' part!" Leaning over she lowered hinged lid. "Forget you ever found them."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Pushing herself up from her knees Taylor turned to face her.

"I'm not." She protested. "But I want you to promise that you won't touch them. If you don't I'm going to have to tell your dad."

Taylor brushed some of the dust off her hands by wiping them on her jeans, and tried to hide the fact she was royally pissed.

For a second Vicky thought Taylor was going to launch herself at her. Taking a step backwards held up her hands. "Come on, you know that even if you didn't blow yourself up your dad would kill you when he found out. It's a lose-lose situation."

That was true Taylor thought, her mom and dad would both freak, if they found out she'd even considered doing something like that. She looked wistfully at the box. "Fine. I won't touch them."

"Promise."

"What do you want me to do? Sign somethin' in blood?" Taylor tried to stare her out, but Vicky stood her ground.

'Promise or I'm going to tell uncle Jethro right now!"

She had no choice. "Alright, I promise. Now can we forget about it?"

Vicky nodded, finally satisfied, and turned back to the area she'd been sweeping. As Taylor watched her cousin work, she slowly counted to ten, before uncrossing the fingers she had hidden behind her back.


	23. Chapter 23

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**_Chelsea 1234 - hope you like it!_**

**Chapter 23**

Within twenty four hours of finding the fireworks Taylor had managed to pocket the keys of the padlock on the storage shed. Now Lucas stood inside, by the window keeping watch, while Taylor split open each firework with a penknife and emptied the powder into a Pringles tube. Taylor didn't trust Vicky not to check that she hadn't broken her promise, so she carefully replaced each empty firework in its original position. As long as no one looked closely they'd never realise the fireworks had been tampered with. Hell she could be in college by the time someone made the discovery. With the can almost full she sealed it with the plastic lid and stuffed the fuses into her pocket. Mission accomplished, they left the shed exactly the way they'd found it and went in search of the perfect target.

o

Finding a suitable tree was taking a lot longer than they had anticipated, and after two days both Taylor and Lucas were becoming inpatient. They had started their search as far away from the town as possible, but the best tree they'd found was closer to the houses than they would have liked. The hollow was also much higher up the trunk than the one that had been on YouTube, maybe fifteen feet. Still, the can fitted perfectly inside the tree, and there was a fallen trunk a safe distance away where they could record the whole thing. The decision was made. This was the spot.

o

Taylor sat about halfway up the tree, beside the hole that the explosives were going to be placed. Lucas stood below, watch in hand.

"Three, two, one, go!" He shouted.

On Lucas's command Taylor started to climb down. They were trying to figure out how long the fuse would have to be. It had to be long enough for her to get out of the tree and safely go cover before igniting the powder. As Lucas timed, Taylor counted it out in her head. They did this a number of times until they were satisfied they knew how much time they would have before the tree exploded.

"We need to practice on something smaller first, so we can time the fuse."

Lucas nodded. "What do you want to practice on?"

"I don't know, you can pick. It can be anything as long as you can pour the powder into it. We'll have the test run tomorrow, so if it works we can do it for real. You sure you can get the camcorder?" She was getting excited now.

"It's already in my bag, charged and all."

Taylor checked the can was sealed properly before slipping it carefully into her backpack. "Oh, and we'll need matches, or a lighter. I'll sort that."

"You really think this is gonna work?" Lucas asked.

She grinned at him. "We'll find out soon enough. If it's anything like the one on the net its gonna be awesome. Vicky has no idea what she's gonna miss."

"You gonna let her see the video?"

Shrugging, Taylor lifted the all important backpack. "Haven't decided yet. Wouldn't want her running to my mom or dad. Besides I hardly see her anyway, she's always with Patrick."

"Pity Ethan's not back yet. Could have blown up his car." Lucas began to follow Taylor back towards town.

"Nice idea, but that's a bit drastic. Don't really wanna go to jail."

"Suppose. You don't get arrested for blowing up a tree do you?" He sounded worried, and stopped walking.

"Nah, its only a tree." Taylor tugged his arm to get him moving again. He couldn't chicken out now. "Just you start thinking about what we're gonna do our test on."

o

Flamin' typical Taylor thought, it just had to rain today didn't it. Everything was packed and ready in her bag as she waited with Lucas in the store for the rain to stop. His backpack was stashed beside the door right beside Taylor's. At least Lucas had shown up. He'd been late, really late, but he had eventually appeared, out of breath and wet. When she asked him what had happened he had just blushed and shaken his head. Taylor just assumed that he didn't want to explain in front of her grandpa and left it at that.

o

"Rain's stopped grandpa" Taylor announced as she grabbed her bag. He had barely glanced up from his paper. "Stay out of trouble."

She didn't hang around long enough to answer and when Jackson looked up again the door was swinging closed on an empty store.

Running at a decent pace it only took the pair fifteen minutes to reach their target. Once they'd got their breath back Taylor lifted the can of powder out. "What'd you bring?"

From his bag Lucas produced a doll. "Sorry. That's why I was late, I forgot all about it, and this is the first thing I found. I know it's dumb, but it should work, shouldn't it?

Taylor nodded, trying not to laugh. Lucas's little sister wasn't going to be very happy. It would look good on tape though. She pulled the head off the doll and carefully poured in some of the powder. Then tying a few of the fuses together she put one end in the doll and finally replaced the head. "There, good to go."

Lucas took up position behind the fallen tree where he had the camcorder set up and hit record before giving her the thumbs up.

"DON'T FORGET TO TIME IT!" She yelled at him. Watching Lucas remove his watch she only knelt down beside the doll when he gave her another signal. Swallowing hard, Taylor opened her dad's zippo and spun the wheel over the flint. A flame appeared at her first attempt and she held it to the fuse. As soon as the fuse started to burn she bolted to where Lucas was shielded by the trunk, the whole time counting in her head. both kids peeked cautiously over the top at the toll, then jumped when it exploded into little pieces. The bang echoed through the trees as bits of plastic flew in every direction.

Taylor looked at Lucas. "Think it worked. Your sister's not gonna be pleased with you."

"Why not?"

"Cause you just killed her doll."

Lucas looked a bit sheepish. "It's not hers, I told you I forgot all about it. I was nearly at the store when I remembered. There was no way I was going to go all the way home again, I was already late, so I kinda 'borrowed' it."

"From where?"

"I ah ….." He shook his head, trying to figure out the best way to put it. "The only place that was open …."

Now Taylor was worried. "Lucas, just tell me!"

"I got it from the church. I knew there was a load of stuff stored in the big cupboard just inside the door. It was either the doll, or one of the lambs."

She looked at him, not sure if she should believe him, but his face was now a deep shade of red, and he definitely looked guilty.

"You gotta be fuckin' shittin' me. Tell me we did not just blow up baby Jesus!"

o

Vicky and Patrick were just heading into the coffee shop when they heard the small explosion. Immediately she let go of Patrick's hand and spun round trying to locate where it had come from. Either that was an extremely loud gunshot or it was Taylor, people did not set off fireworks unless it was dark. "SHIT!"

"What's wrong?" Patrick asked, worried that he'd done something to upset her.

"I gotta check on Taylor." Not hanging around to explain any further Vicky sprinted across the street towards the store.

o

"Where's Taylor?" Vicky blurted out the instant she was through the door.

Jackson straightened up behind the counter. "Think she's with Lucas, why?"

Vicky was through the store and into the kitchen before Jack finished his question. Ignoring her aunt and uncle at the table she pulled open the drawer where the keys were kept and rifled through its contents. As soon as her hand closed around the key of the shed Vicky was on the move again, this time out the back door. Lock open, Vicky made straight for the metal box, throwing the lid back. Seeing the boxes of fireworks she let out a long relieved breath. Then jumped, dropping the lid when someone right behind her spoke.

"What's going on?" Jethro asked calmly.

"I just thought ….." Now she knew Taylor didn't have the fireworks she didn't want to land her in trouble.

Jethro reached past her and opened the lid again. He was not as easily fooled as his niece and lifted one of the boxes out to examine it more closely. It was way too light. "You thought what?" He demanded, panic building up in his gut as he opened the box and checked out a firework.

"I heard an explosion and thought Taylor might have taken them, but she didn't."

Gibbs ran his finger along the opening his daughter had made with her knife and pulled it apart. He passed it to Vicky. "They're empty."

Quickly checking the weight of all the other boxes he tried to estimate just how much powder was missing. It was a hell of a lot.

"But ….. she promised!"

"What was she gonna do with them?"

"She promised." Vicky repeated, not quite believing Taylor had gone back on her word."

"VICKY! WHAT IS SHE GOING TO DO?" He demanded again.

"She said something about making a tree into, I don't remember exactly, but some sort of bomb like she said she'd seen on YouTube."

"A pipe bomb?" He asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, that's it."

Grabbing her arm he dragged his niece outside. "Show me where the explosion was!"

She just stared at him.

"NOW!"

Vicky ran her eyes over the trees, then pointed. "I think it was somewhere in that direction. But it wasn't a very loud bang, maybe it's not her."

"Go tell your aunt what's going on." With that, Jethro started to run.

o

Taylor sat, legs crossed on the damp ground tying what was left of the fuses together. Math had come in useful after all. She had easily worked out what length it had to be. Lucas was still trying to convince her that there was nothing wrong with stealing from the church. The only two things that made her fell better were the fact the theft probably wouldn't be discovered until Christmas and it had been Lucas not her, who had stolen it.

Fuse securely attached, Taylor climbed the tree while Lucas checked out the camera again. She wedged the Pringles can firmly into the hollow, leaving the fuse trailing out through the hole before giving Lucas the thumbs up.

"Shit!" Taylor realised the lighter wasn't in her pocket she scrambled out of the tree again.

As she searched through her backpack for the lighter she could hear someone shouting in the distance. It sounded very like her name that was being called out.

Taylor froze, hand gripping her dad's zippo, and listened harder.

"TAYLOR!" That was definitely her name and her father's voice.

For a few seconds Lucas and Taylor stared at each other, not sure what to do.

Taylor made the decision. "We have to do this quickly, so don't fuck it up." Her dad's voice was getting louder. " Camera ready?"

Lucas was distracted by Jethro's voice behind him.

"LUCAS! CAMERA!"

He looked at her in awe, she was really going through with it. "Okay, it's ready."

Racing over to the tree again she climbed back up to a branch level with the fuse. Flicking open the lighter she put her thumb on the wheel. Her dad was in view now.

"TAYLOR JACQUELINE GIBBS DON'T YOU DARE LIGHT THAT!"

Taylor looked from the lighter in her hand, to her dad, and back again.

"TAYLOR! LOOK AT ME! YOU'VE USED TOO MUCH POWDER!" He was still a fair distance away.

She dismissed what he was telling her. They'd come too far not to go through with it now. Her dad was closing in on Lucas now, who was also watching to see what she was gonna do. 'Fuck it!' she thought and raised her thumb.

Spinning the wheel, hands shaking, Taylor held the flame to the end of the fuse. The instant it started to burn, Taylor pocketed the lighter started to climb down. The branches, still wet from the earlier rain weren't as easy to negotiate at speed as they had been the day before. Her foot slipped, but Taylor didn't fall far. Her hooded sweatshirt caught on a slightly lower branch. The relief she'd felt when she stopped falling passed quickly. Taylor wriggled to free herself, but she was well and truly stuck, and the fuse was out of reach. If she hadn't been so scared it would have been funny, it looked like a cartoon bomb. But Taylor was still counting in her head and knew she was running out of time, and fast.


	24. Chapter 24

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 24**

Wriggling frantically Taylor was now in a full blown panic. So was her dad. Jethro was almost underneath her and could see he wasn't going to be able to reach the fuse in time to stop it.

"Put your arms straight above your head!"

Taylor didn't appear to hear him. He was directly below her now and if he jumped he would just about be able to touch the sole of her sneaker.

"TAYLOR!" He roared.

She looked down.

"PUT YOUR ARMS UP STRAIGHT ABOVE YOUR HEAD!"

Finally, doing as she was told, she held her arms up and started to slip out of the sweatshirt.

Jethro caught her, but didn't waste any time in setting her down. The instant he had a decent grip he ran towards Lucas, his daughter tucked under his arm like a football. He was aware that Taylor was counting down. If she was right it was going to be close.

"Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two,"

They had almost reached the safety of the fallen tree, and as soon as Taylor uttered 'one' He tossed her over the log, then dived over himself.

Both hit the ground as the huge explosion rocked the clearing. Even though Taylor was winded by the impact when she hit the ground, she still managed to curl up and cover her head with her arms. As bits of the tree rained down on them, Jethro grabbed the waistband of Taylor's pants and dragged her closer to cover her with his body. Lucas was fine, he was in tight enough for most of the falling debris to miss him.

As Taylor lay underneath her dad she kept her eyes tightly shut. That had been way too close, even for her liking. Another few seconds stuck on that branch and she would have been splattered across the clearing. That had been one hell of an explosion. The one on YouTube hadn't sounded anywhere near as loud as that.

Eventually Taylor felt her father move, and the sun hit her face again. She didn't want to, but she opened her eyes. Her dad was on his knees, staring down at her with a look she neither recognised nor liked.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

Shaking her head, Taylor sat up slowly.

"Lucas, you okay?" He asked the boy.

"Yeah." Lucas was already on his feet, brushing the dirt from his clothes and looking towards their tree, well what was left of it. Taylor stared at it in horror. Only about eight feet of the trunk remained standing. Even the hollow was gone. There was no sign of her sweatshirt.

She couldn't stop herself. "Holy fuck! Did ya get it on camera?"

Just about to answer Lucas stopped when Taylor was lifted to her feet and dragged towards the remains of the tree.

Automatically Taylor opened her mouth to protest, but the strange look was still there, so she put her head down, and kept quiet.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" He shouted.

She had no intention of looking at him, so keeping her eyes on the ground Taylor shrugged.

Jethro didn't repeat the question. Letting go of her t-shirt he grabbed her arm and turned her sideways, before landing six of the hardest swats Taylor had ever felt. The combination of the adrenalin still coursing through her veins and the smacks reduced her to tears.

"Save it Taylor!" Gibbs growled as he grabbed her shirt again and marched her right across the clearing through still falling leaves before stopping. At first she didn't know what she was supposed to be looking at. Then she spotted it. Halfway up one of the trees was part of her sweatshirt, a very small part. Taylor cried harder, but it did not elicit any sympathy from her dad.

"That was almost you! Well it looks like a sleeve, so it might just have been your arm!"

Just about to pull his daughter over to another part of her top, he stopped when the sheriff and another officer burst into the clearing, guns drawn.

It only took them a few seconds for them to realise there was no terrorist threat before they holstered their weapons.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

Jethro nodded towards Lucas, then gave Taylor a gentle shake. "These two idiots decided it would be clever to use fireworks to make a pipe bomb out of a tree."

The sheriff glared angrily at Taylor, who was trying to wipe the tears away with little success.

"You realise half the town thinks they're under attack?" The sheriff asked.

When his daughter didn't answer immediately, Jethro prompted her. "Answer the question Taylor."

She looked up guiltily at the sheriff through fresh tears.

"Was just a tree." She managed to mumble.

As soon as she'd said it Taylor knew this was not the answer either man had been looking for, but the connection between her brain and mouth seemed to be even more unreliable than usual. Another two powerful smacks to the seat of her pants, courtesy of her father reinforced her suspicions.

"I'm sorry, it was dumb! Okay?" Taylor tried to turn herself round again, but her dad was holding her in position. Not a good sign.

He leaned down, but not to acknowledge her response. He pointed towards Lucas. "Go and sit on the tree trunk. Do not move, do not speak. I'll be watching."

The mood her dad was in she was not even tempted to make a run for it. There was no telling what he would do when he caught her. Taylor wiped her eyes with her arm again and went to sit beside the other terrorist.

"You alright?" Lucas whispered.

She'd almost blown herself up, her dad was well past furious and her backside was already on fire. The instant her dad glanced away from her she whispered back. "What do you think? He's gonna kill me!"

At least she'd managed to stop crying. For how long she didn't know.

"We gonna get arrested?" He asked nervously.

Taylor was trying to figure out what the sheriff was saying, but her ears were still ringing a little. She shrugged.

"That was so close. If your dad hadn't have shown up you'd have been ..."

"Shut up Lucas!" She didn't want to think about it anymore.

o

When the two officers left and her father turned back towards her Taylor started to wish they had been arrested. That expression was still there and scared the crap out of her. Even though her brain may have been screaming run she stayed exactly where she was. Keeping her eyes firmly on the ground in front of her she avoided looking at what was left of the tree and her father who was now right in front of them. Taylor stared at his boots, but kept her mouth shut.

Lucas already had his bag over his shoulder and camera in hand.

Jethro reached behind the trunk and lifted Taylor's backpack, before taking her hand."Let's go."

Lucas walked alongside Taylor, who was trying hard not to drag, but her dad was walking too fast.

"Dad I ..."

He stopped abruptly and glared at her. "Not one word Taylor!"

Taylor opened her mouth to ask him to slow down, but he stopped her with a look. "I mean it Taylor, not one word. You really don't want me to lose it right now!"

Quickly closing her mouth Taylor found herself being dragged along again, as she desperately fought back new tears.

o

They were about halfway back when Patricia appeared on the path ahead. Taylor tried to pull her hand free to go to her mom, but her dad wasn't legging go. He just tugged her back beside him. "Pack it in!" He warned.

"The sheriff told me what happened. We heard the explosion and were afraid that ..." Patricia looked all three over. "You're sure no one's hurt?"

"We're fine." Jethro reassured his wife.

Taylor's butt was obviously not included in the equation, and if her mom had been aware of just how it felt right now, she might not have decided to add a few sharp swats of her own. There was no escape from her hand and all Taylor could do was yelp, and try not to cry in front of Lucas again.

Patricia fell into step beside Lucas, and rested her hand on his shoulder. If her dad hadn't ordered her not to speak, she'd have asked why she was stuck in a death grip and Lucas wasn't.

The rest of the walk home was in complete silence. They'd passed a number of people who were on their way, no doubt, to check out what had been going on, but neither her mom nor dad spoke to anyone. Taylor's forced march didn't stop until they were outside the store. Her grandpa was standing just outside, talking to the Reverend Moore. He looked decidedly unimpressed with her. Only now was Taylor's hand released, but her freedom only lasted a few seconds before her mom grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, leaving her dad to take Lucas home.

o

Taylor had expected to be sent straight to her room, or at the very least a corner, but she was whisked through to the kitchen and told to sit. She watched as Patricia filled a bowl with warm water and added a capful of antiseptic, before kneeling down in front of her with a cloth. Taylor waited for her to speak, but her mom just gently cleaned up a graze she hadn't even noticed on her forearm. Taylor couldn't stick the silence any longer.

"Mom ..."

When Patricia looked up, the disappointment and worry Taylor saw, stopped her dead.

"What Taylor?"

What she'd been going to say was that she was sorry and they hadn't known it would be such a big explosion. What she actually said was "nothin'."

Her grandfather chose that moment to barge into the kitchen, and he wasn't quite as good as staying calm or quiet as her mom.

"You really outdid yourself this time, didn't you?"

Taylor wasn't sure if he wanted her to answer.

He kept going, so obviously not. "STEALING!" As if he could read her mind he added "It doesn't matter if they're old or out of date, they didn't belong to you!"

Chewing on her bottom lip Taylor tried not to cry. God forbid he ever found out what they'd practiced on.

Jackson barely paused for breath. "And to do something so dangerous! How could you be so, so thoughtless?"

Taylor couldn't stop herself. "I'M SORRY! OKAY? I DIDN'T THINK TAKING THE FIREWORKS WOULD MATTER, THEY WERE JUST SITTIN' OUT THERE DOIN' NOTHIN'! AND I DIDN'T KNOW WE USED TOO MUCH POWDER, AND I SURE AS HELL DIDN'T PLAN ON GETTIN' STUCK!"

Her grandpa moved closer but stopped short of grabbing her. "It doesn't look as if you thought about much does it?"

"What do you mean about getting stuck?" Patricia asked as soon as Jackson stopped giving off.

"You don't need to ask Taylor, you can see for yourself what happened." Jethro stood in the doorway holding up Lucas's camcorder.

Taylor felt the blood drain from her face. "You've watched it?" She squeaked. Seeing it again was just going to remind him exactly how close a call they'd had.

Instead of answering, Jethro just passed the camcorder to his wife. "Do you want to hook that up to the TV?" Before manhandling his daughter, by the scruff again, into a corner of the living room.

Taylor, pretty sure everyone's attention would be on the TV, rested her head against the walls, and hoped that Lucas had screwed up the recording. He had, but not in the way she wanted.

There was a loud gasp from her mom when the doll exploded into pieces. Then Taylor heard something that made her want to curl up and die.

"Think it worked. Your sister's not gonna be pleased with you." That was her voice.

"Why not?" And that would be Lucas.

"Cause you just killed her doll."

Lucas had forgotten to stop recording.

Taylor spun round. "I didn't know grandpa, I swear!"

Bad move. Her dad was on his feet and behind her in record time. He spun her back around into the corner and whispered menacingly into her ear. "Don't want to hear another word from this corner. I'm not gonna warn you again. Got it?"

Taylor gave the slightest nod to show she understood. Didn't matter now anyway. Lucas's confession was out in the open.

The next thing she heard from the tape was her dad's voice calling her, followed by her own, telling Lucas in no uncertain terms not to mess it up. Then she heard something she hadn't heard first time round. It was Lucas when he realised the camera was still recording and he was telling himself he could just cut that bit out later.

Taylor shuffled uncomfortably. Why were they makin' her listen? It was gonna be hard enough to forget. She could have waited in her room.

Her dad's warning not to light the fuse filled the room, loud and clear. Then another warning, even louder than the first, to let her know she'd used too much powder. Taylor tended to agree with that opinion now, maybe she had added just a bit too much. When her mom and grandpa both let out gasps at the same time, Taylor assumed they were watching her slipping and getting stuck. She so did not want to be in that corner right now. It was normally bad enough having to confess what she'd done wrong. This time everything was there for them to see for themselves. Nothing she could come up with would make her actions seem any less dangerous, not now.

Even Taylor jumped at the noise of the tree exploding, but unlike her mom she did not start crying, although the guilt she was feeling was taking her closer to that point.

For a good few minutes that was the only sound that could be heard in the room, and boy did that make Taylor feel bad. In fact she felt so bad she started to wish her dad was yelling at her instead. Guilt, she was finding out, was a hard emotion to deal with.

o

Taylor flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but resisted the urge to look behind her.

"Turn round." Patricia told her softly.

Not wanting to see the same expression her dad had been wearing, on her mom and grandpa, she didn't move.

"Taylor." This time her mom turned her around.

Keeping her head down she tried to check out the room. Her dad and grandpa were gone. Another wave of guilt hit her and Taylor threw her arms around her mom and held on tight.

"I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry!"

Patricia returned the hug, leaning down to whisper calming words and noises, all the time gently rubbing the back of her head. It was a long time before Taylor stopped crying.


	25. Chapter 25

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 25**

Taylor jumped to her feet when the bedroom door opened, expecting it to be her dad. It wasn't him. It was Vicky and she looked kinda pissed.

"You promised!" Vicky looked and sounded hurt.

"I promised what?"

"You promised you wouldn't touch the fireworks!"

"Had my fingers crossed so it didn't count."

""What age are you, six? Of course it counts, a promise is a promise!"

Now that Taylr thought about the whole finger crossing loophole, it did sound a bit dumb, but it was something she'd always done. That's why her dad made her take her hands out of her pockets when he was interrogating her, wasn't it? There had to be something behind it. "Everyone knows if you cross your fingers a lie isn't a lie. It's probably even in the bible."

Vicky moved close enough to push her cousin back down onto the bed.

Butt still tender, Taylor winced and immediately stood up again. "Quit it!"

"What's the matter?" Vicky pushed her down again." "Can't sit down? Still, it could be worse, they could be trying to scoop up what was left of you and Lucas into plastic bags right now."

This time instead of standing, Taylor scooted back on the bed until she was leaning up against the wall. "You think I don't know that?"

Vicky stared at her. Taylor admitting she was wrong, she hadn't seen that coming, and it took some of her anger away. She sat down on her own bed.

"How'd my dad find out?" Taylor shifted her weight a little. "Did you tell him?"

"I heard the first explosion and went to check the fireworks were still there, your dad followed. That was one hell of a bang, the second one. Sounded as if you used all the fireworks. It made the windows in the store rattle."

Taylor wasn't sure if she felt guilty or stupid, probably both. "How was I supposed to know how much to use? Didn't exactly say on the back of the box did it?"

"Aren't you mad that I told on you?" She regarded her cousin suspiciously.

"No. I got stuck in the tree. Dad got me out just in time, so if you hadn't told him …" Taylor shrugged, not wanting to say it. "He's kinda pissed at that."

"I'll bet." Vicky relaxed, she'd been afraid there was going to be another full scale war. "He took it out on your ass then?"

"Not yet."

"But I thought …"

"There's no way I'm gettin' away with a few swats, no matter how hard they were. Is he downstairs?" Not knowing how long it would be until she had to face the music was always a killer.

"No just your grandpa and aunt Patricia, and yeah, before you ask, I don't think your grandpa will ever get over the fact that you killed Jesus, then nearly killed yourself. If I were you I'd stay out of his reach for a while.

Taylor managed a small grin. "Still can't believe Lucas nicked that from the church."

"You were supposed to get Taylor for dinner, not to sit up here talking." Patricia directed at Vicky from just outside the door. "If you don't hurry up it'll be cold."

"Sorry." Vicky ducked under her aunt's arm and raced down the stairs.

"Not hungry." Taylor informed her mom.

"Doesn't matter, you're still eating." She stated simply, letting her daughter know she had no choice in the matter.

With a sigh Taylor followed her mom downstairs, making a mental note to give her grandpa a wide berth.

o

Trying to swallow when you weren't hungry wasn't the easiest thing to do, but Taylor managed to force some of her dinner down. Between her grandpa's condemning looks and her father's empty chair it wasn't exactly the most relaxed meal they'd ever had. When everyone had finished Taylor headed straight back up to her room, not wanting her grandpa to start lecturing her again, making her relive the days events. After a quick shower Taylor changed into her pyjamas, found her PSP at the back of a drawer and settled herself down on her bed to wait.

Patricia checked on her shortly after, and Taylor found the courage to ask the question she'd been afraid to ask earlier. "Where's dad?"

"I don't know."

Taylor's heart skipped a beat. "He's comin' back, isn't he?"

"Of course he is." She sat on the edge of Vicky's bed. ""He's just gone for a walk to clear his head. You gave him quite a scare today."

"Scared me too." Taylor admitted. "He's really mad, huh?"

Patricia raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

"Yeah." She turned the game console over in her hands. "He never smacked me that hard before." When her mom looked confused she added, "Right after the tree blew up."

""Ah.." Now it made sense. "You don't think you deserved it?"

"Didn't say that. I just meant," she shrugged "I don't know, he had a really weird look on his face. Don't think I ever made him that mad before, and I've made him mad plenty of times." That last bit was probably an understatement, but her mom would know what she was talking about.

"Well you didn't come so close to blowing yourself up before, and not after he warned you not to do it, twice. What exactly do you think would of happened if your dad hadn't been there today?""

Taylor thought back to the piece of sweatshirt in the tree. "Don't wanna think about that."

Patricia reached over and took the PSP out of her hand. "Well maybe you should be thinking about that instead of playing games."

"But …."

"No buts Taylor, now under the covers, not on top." She tapped Taylor's leg and waited until she was actually in bed before closing the drapes.

"Isn't dad gonna, you know …"

"Not tonight, so make good use of the time and think about the risks you took today, and what you put everyone through."

Taylor turned onto her side to face the wall. She didn't want to think, she wanted to forget. Forget what she's done, and what she had coming.

o

Taylor must have eventually fallen asleep and when she woke up later the room was completely dark. Her crimes from the previous day filled her head, and she could hear Vicky snoring from the bed beside her. She was not going to be able to get back to sleep anytime soon, so, throwing back the covers Taylor went in search of her PSP.

As soon as she cleared the last stair Taylor realised there was someone sitting in the darkness of the living room. It had to be her dad, but from where she was standing she couldn't see if he was awake or not. Either way she didn't care. Taylor gently lowered herself down onto the couch beside him, relieved that he'd come home again. He was asleep. She moved close enough to be able to feel his chest rise and fall, then tried to match her breathing to his. It was too hard, her dad took much deeper, slower breaths.

"Why aren't you in bed?"

Taylor gave a little jump at her dad's voice, she hadn't meant to wake him up. "Can't sleep."

"Why not?"

"Cause, you know …"

"No I don't. Tell me."

"Cause of what I did. Why aren't you in bed?'

"Same reason. Cause of what you did."

There was the guilt again. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

"I made mom cry." She paused for a second to figure out just who else she'd managed to piss off. "And I made you mad, and grandpa, oh and the sheriff and probably the minister when he finds out what we did to his Jesus doll." Taylor followed that statement with a whisper. "I made me mad too."

"How?"

"I should off listened to you when you warned me not to light the fuse."

"Yeah you should have, and its something you're going to pay for."

Taylor's stomach flipped over. "Should have used less powder and a longer fuse too. Huh?" She could feel her father breathing faster. He was getting angry.

"No. You shouldn't have stolen the fireworks or tried to make a bomb!"

"Kinda figured that out when I was caught on the branch dad. OW!" Taylor rubbed her leg. She hadn't seen that one coming in the dark.

"You wanna make it worse?"

"No." this time she thought about what she was gonna say before she opened her mouth. "I know I shouldn't have done it, and I know you're gonna make me regret it, "

"Uh huh."

"but I didn't think it could go wrong until it did." Taylor really wanted to add that if he hadn't of made her rush she might not have slipped, but having a good idea what his reaction would be, decided against it.

"You call getting blown to pieces going wrong?"

Shit, she'd set him off again. "Dad I know what nearly happened and I don't want to think about it any more."

"That's too bad Taylor, because you need to think about it." Standing up he pulled her to her feet. "You need to realise just how close you came to killing yourself! Go back to bed Taylor. If you can't sleep think about just how badly you screwed up."

Taylor stood her ground, trying to decide if she should try and push him into punishing her now, instead of having to wait. "Told you I'm not thinkin' anymore." The whole idea of lying in bed, going over everything again and again in her head was horrendous."

"It's not your call."

"But OW!" Taylor quickly sat down on the stairs.

"You still can't do what you're told, can you?"

"I was just askin'!" She protested.

"No you weren't, you were trying to goad me into spanking you now."

There wasn't much point glaring at him in the dark, but she did it anyway. How the hell did he know that?

"If you're that keen, I'll oblige, but I'm still going to strap you tomorrow." He allowed a few seconds for it to sink in. "BED!"

Taylor instantly turned and scrambled up the stairs.

As Taylor threw herself into bed her heart was racing in her chest. That had almost taken a nasty turn. It was hard to try and make someone angry when you didn't have the temper to back you up. Angry at herself for backing down, Taylor kicked at her quilt. She hadn't even managed to get a hold of her PSP. With sleep unlikely to come easily, and a strapping to look forward to, it was going to be a very long night.

o

The night did seem to drag on forever and Taylor had indeed been able to do a lot of thinking. By morning she had come to the conclusion that most of what had happened had not been her fault. Conscience a lot clearer and hungry after eating so little the night before Taylor found herself in the kitchen with a giant bowl of cereal in front of her long before anyone else woke up.

It was already warm, even though it was early. It was going to be a perfect summer's day. Taylor propped her spoon up in the bowl and opened the back door to let some fresh air in, before returning to her breakfast. She wondered how Lucas was doing and if he was going to be allowed out today. If his mom and dad had watched the video she doubted it very much. It didn't seem fair. It had been her idea, she was the one who had taken all the risks and yet she was the only one who hadn't actually seen the explosion for herself. If her dad had anything to do with it she wouldn't get to see it at all. The camera was most likely locked up in Lucas's house and the video would never be posted on YouTube. What a waste! Taylor was positive it was way better that the one she'd originally watched. She pulled her iPhone from her pocket. It had been a while since she'd watched it.

"The first thing I was going to ask you today was why." The voice came from behind her.

Taylor jumped and almost dropped her phone.

"Is that where you got the idea from?" He nodded towards her phone.

"It's not nice sneakin' up on people." She complained, trying to distract him while she put the phone into her pocket again. "And no, I didn't get the idea from my phone." Turning her attention back to her cereal, Taylor tried to ignore her father's presence. I mean did he actually expect her to tell him everything. When she glanced up at him he was looking right back at her. Taylor dropped the spoon into the bowl, splashing milk over the table. "What?"

"Where did you get the idea from?"

"Which idea?"

Jethro pushed himself off the counter he'd been leaning against. "Stop trying to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. When I ask you a question I expect an honest answer, and you know what to expect if you lie."

Taylor decided to try a different approach. After deciding she wasn't totally to blame she now came to the conclusion she'd suffered enough. "You told me last night to think about what I did."

"Go on." He seemed willing to play along for now.

"Well, when we took the fireworks we didn't think we were doing anything wrong. They were a bit like garbage you weren't allowed to throw in a trashcan. We didn't even know if they were going to work they were so old. So I'm not sorry for that." She waited to see how he would react, and when he didn't get angry or try to contradict her, Taylor began to feel more confident.

"Keep going." He told her calmly.

"When I blew up Jesus, that was so not my fault. I thought it was just some stupid doll Lucas had found. I didn't know he'd stolen it from the church, so I don't have to be sorry about that either."

Again there was no argument from her father.

"As for blowing up the tree, well how was I supposed to know we'd used to much powder? We made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, so what? No big deal. I know I slipped, but that's only cause you showed up and made me panic, so when I got stuck in the tree it was technically your fault, not mine. The way I see it the only thing I did wrong yesterday was to light the fuse when you told me not to, and you already smacked me for that." Taylor folded her arms and glowered at him, remembering just how much it had hurt. "My butt's probably still got a giant handprint on it, you hit me that hard." Slowly and calmly Taylor set her bowl in the sink, pleased he was taking everything so well. It looked as if keeping your temper under control had its advantages after all. Relieved that was all over Taylor headed for the open door. "I'm gonna see Lucas." Her dad didn't need to know she wanted to watch the tape. "I'll be back for dinner."


	26. Chapter 26

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

Chapter 26

"You put one foot outside that door Taylor and you'll think yourself lucky if you can sit down by Christmas."

Hesitating, Taylor looked back at her dad. He still looked relatively calm, so he could be bluffing, but it was too hard to tell. "Why?" She whined as she turned, but didn't move any closer to him.

His only response was to crook his finger at her.

Taylor glanced outside again, wanting nothing more that to be out there. "I just told you what happened didn't I?" She protested, before taking a step backwards towards the door. "It's not as if its something I'm gonna do again. Blowing up a tree is a once in a lifetime experience." She tensed as her father straightened up, well aware there was no chance of outrunning him.

"You've had your say. I think it's only fair I have mine, don't you?"

"Your hand said plenty already." Another step, this one left her standing right in the doorway. Taylor briefly checked her feet just to make sure she was still inside. She wasn't ready to commit to full blown defiance just yet. "I told you, I ain't gonna do it again.

"I know you're not." Even though he was agreeing with his daughter it still sounded more like a threat.

It was decision time. Either she made her break for freedom, or backed down and did as she was told.

Her dad still hadn't moved any closer. He pointed to the floor directly in front of him. "Get over here Taylor. NOW!"

Taylor backed down and obeyed the order. Thumbs hooked in the pockets of her pants she slowly and cautiously walked over to where he was pointing. When he didn't speak, Taylor reluctantly looked up at him, trying to determine if he was going to pounce. He didn't, just folded his arms and gave her a look to let her know she was lucky she'd made the right choice.

"Go wait in the living room."

"What for?"

"Doesn't matter what for, just do it!" Taking her by the shoulders he gave her a gentle shove in the right direction.

"Fine!" Taylor made her exit before he had the chance to tell her to stand in the corner.

o

Stretching out on the couch, still convinced she'd done nothing wrong, Taylor used the remote to switch the TV on.

"TV OFF TAYLOR!" Jethro's voice carried in clearly from the kitchen.

Taylor tutted, then hit mute. How would he like it if she told him not to drink coffee?

"RIGHT OFF!"

Sitting up, she peeked over the back of the couch, expecting to see her dad in the doorway, but he wasn't there, so she ignored the request and lay back down again. A few seconds later an arm reached over and took the remote from her hand and the screen went black. By the time Taylor pushed herself up to a sitting position her father and the control were gone. Forcing down the urge to say something she'd regret, Taylor kicked at the coffee table in front of her. That man wanted to control every f***in' thing she did. They all did. Closing her eyes Taylor tried to imagine what it would be like without anyone telling her what to do every minute of the day and night. The idea really appealed to her. Wasn't exactly going to happen anytime soon though, was it? Still, Taylor had no intention of backing down as far as the whole firework thing was concerned. That would make her feel guilty again, and she hadn't liked that, not one little bit, especially upsetting her mom. That had been tough. Taylor was used to shouting, threats and swats, but not tears. She kicked the table again before standing up. She'd almost made herself feel bad again. Enough thinking. Not wanting to waste time hanging around the house Taylor decided to find out what was keeping him.

o

Jethro wasn't impressed when he looked up from the newspaper to find his daughter standing in the doorway.

"How long do I have to wait in there on my own? I'm bored!"

Slowly, giving her the opportunity to return to the other room without him having to take her, he got to his feet. Taylor might not of had the sense to stay where she'd been told, but she was smart enough to stay out of reach. Or maybe not. He was right beside her now and she hadn't moved an inch. Instead she just glowered up at him as if he was the source of the trouble.

Taking her by the arm, Jethro led her back into the living room. This time however, instead of letting her sit down, he guided her into a corner, whispering into her ear before she had the chance to protest. "You'll wait her for as long as I tell you to." He was just about to leave her there when she spun around.

"Why should I?" Her hands went to her hips. "And what's the big deal with watching TV, huh? Wasn't hurtin' anyone. You just like tellin' me what to do! Well I ain't ….."

Jethro, his temper hanging by a thread now, applied his hand firmly to her rear before growling at her. "Do you really want to keep testing me when you're already in so much trouble?" This time, with the sting in her backside to help, Taylor seemed to recognize his rapidly decreasing patience and faced the corner again without any prompting.

After watching his daughter for a few moments to make sure she was going to stay put, he retreated to the kitchen to calm down and figure out just what was going on in Taylor's head.

o

Taylor had no idea why she'd just done that. She was still bored, only now she had a stinging butt to deal with too. Not wanting to earn another swat she stood still until she heard her dad walk away. She hadn't been alone for long when the phone in her pocket vibrated. Cautiously, checking over her shoulder to make sure her father hadn't returned, Taylor checked the screen. It was Lucas. He was still alive then. The message was short but easily understood. 'Tree 15 mins'

Checking it was still safe, Taylor texted back. 'prob grounded'.

Lucas's response was immediate. 'so am I come on think ferris ill b bk in dc b4 u get out again'

Lucas did have a point. She probably wouldn't see him again for months and months if they were both grounded. Wait a minute! Technically she wasn't grounded. But then she'd been told to stay where she was, and her dad was already mad enough. One last day spent messing around with Lucas would only be worth it until it was time to come home. Grounding would be the least of her problems then. Taylor continued to weigh up the pros and cons as Lucas persisted with his messages. Finally the decision was made. Staying right where she was, was her best option. Admittedly, the boring, cowardly one, but she reckoned she'd seen enough trouble for a while. With a sigh Taylor began her final message, but then froze at the sound of voices. Her mom was up. The guilt Taylor had felt the day before at making her cry returned with a vengeance. There was no way she was gonna be able to face her mom, she just couldn't! Suddenly Lucas's plan didn't sound as bad after all. Taylor reconsidered her decision, leaving only an empty corner and an open window for her father to find.

o

Lucas was waiting where he'd said he'd be, and looked relieved when he spotted Taylor approaching. Taylor was more interested in checking out the damage they'd done with their bomb though. It was impressive. Horrific, but impressive.

"You took your time!" Lucas complained. "I was startin' to think you'd chickened out."

"I'm here now aren't I?" Taylor caught sight of a small piece of fabric caught on one of the broken branches that littered the clearing. Kneeling down she picked it up and slipped it into her pocket. She'd seen enough. "Come on, we'd better get outa here. This is the first place my dad's gonna look when he discovers I'm not standin' in the corner. Trying to forget how much trouble they were in, Taylor gave him a shove, then took off running. "Quit wastin' time!" She called back. "This better be worth the shit we're gonna have to take tonight!"

Lucas grinned as he started after her. "Hey! Wait up! Where are we goin?"

o

"Oh you are in so much trouble!"

Taylor shot to her feet, dropping the cigarette Lucas had just passed to her. "What the f**k Vicky?" She lifted the cigarette off the floor of the boathouse they were holed up in. "You tryin' to scare me to death?"

Vicky smirked at her cousin. "Bit jumpy, aren't you?"

Taylor gave Vicky her best sarcastic look. "What do you think?"

Taking the cigarette out of Taylor's hand, she took a drag before passing it to Lucas. "Don't blame you for feeling nervous, the pair of you are top of Stillwater's most wanted list. They'll be putting your pictures on playing cards next."

"We are?" Lucas managed to get out between coughs. He looked as if he was about to throw up.

"Oh yeah, your dad's just as mad as Taylor's, and both are out searching right now."

"F**k!" Taylor said, almost to herself, then raised her head towards Vicky. "You gonna tell them where we are?"

"No, but are you sure it wouldn't be smarter just to go home now? You can't hide forever, and the longer you leave it, the madder everyone's going to be." Vicky couldn't understand why they'd done something so dumb. Running, that was crazy.

"Maybe she has a point Taylor." Lucas added, not feeling quite so confident or brave now.

"What do you mean she has a point? This was your f**kin' idea in the first place!" She couldn't believe he wanted to back out.

"I know, but ….."

Taylor turned angrily to her cousin. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"I'm on your side." Vicky held her hands up in surrender. "What the hell are you getting so angry about? I just wanted to warn you."

Lifting her dad's lighter and the almost empty pack of cigarettes, Taylor stalked to the door. "You comin' or not?"

Lucas didn't speak, just shook his head.

When Taylor spun round and walked out the door, Vicky followed, catching her by the arm to stop her. "Wait a minute!"

"Let go of me!" Taylor snarled, pulling her arm away.

"What's really bugging you? There must be some reason why you ran. It doesn't make any sense."

Taylor didn't answer. She wanted to confide in Vicky, but just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"And what am I supposed to tell your mom and dad?"

That was it. Taylor had had enough. "I don't give a flyin' f**k what you tell them. I'll go home when I feel like it!"

Vicky watched Taylor take off. There was no point chasing her when she was in a mood like that.

Lucas came up behind her. "She's been in a lousy mood all morning. "You think she's gonna be okay?"

"She'll be fine." Vicky was hoping Taylor calmed down enough to realize the best thing to do was to go home and face the music, before the music found her.


	27. Chapter 27

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 27**

It was dark now, and from the corner of the boathouse where Taylor was sitting, she could see very little. Every so often her mind would play tricks on her and she would convince herself something was moving towards her, through the darkness. Taylor had lost count of the number of times she'd used her dad's lighter to check she was alone. No people, no monsters, just herself and her guilty conscience. She was tired too. Not just because she'd spent the whole day on the move, trying to avoid detection, but she'd also been beating herself up over the decisions she made, and boy had she made some bad ones! Taylor couldn't even convince herself anymore that she wasn't to blame. Just about everything had been her fault. Not the baby Jesus though, that was all Lucas, so he could deal with the creepy minister. Right now, Taylor was trying to build up enough courage to go home. It wasn't easy. She had a fairly good idea what her reception would be like, and was not looking forward to it at all.

o

Taylor fished the last cigarette out of the pack and lit it. Not that she really wanted, or needed it, but if her punishment was anything like Lucas's, it was probably the last chance she'd have in a very long time. Taylor stared at the tip of the cigarette glowing so brightly in the dark and thought about her friend. Lucas was lucky. He'd already taken his spanking, and knew how long he was grounded for. Two whole weeks of the summer he was going to miss out on, and his mom had confiscated his camera. Maybe she should of gone home with him earlier, and just got everything over with, instead of making things worse. It was really late now, and judging from the number of text messages and missed calls on her phone, her parents were bound to be furious right now. Taylor tried to push that thought from her head. If she kept worrying about what was going to happen when she got home, she'd end up spending the next nine years or so hiding out in the woods, and that would never work, she was already hungry. After taking a few drags in quick succession Taylor flicked the cigarette into the water and replaced it with a piece of gum. She couldn't put it off any longer. It was time to go home.

o

The closer Taylor got to town, the more nervous she became. She was starting to wish she'd saved her last cigarette until the last possible moment, she doubted if her dad would go for the cigarette and blindfold thing before he executed her. All thoughts of nicotine flew out of her head as she turned the next corner. Her feet stopped moving, all of their own accord. In front of the Sheriff's office was a large group of people, maybe eighteen or twenty, all of them armed with torches. Even from where she was standing, still a good distance away, Taylor could make out her dad in the middle of them. Shit! It was a pretty safe they were all looking for her. This was not good. Feet rooted to the spot, she tried to figure out her best move. She was still planning on giving herself up, but wasn't keen on doing it in front of all those people. It was extremely unlikely that her safe return would resemble that of the prodigal son, and it might be better for all concerned, well not everyone, just her, if she picked another route home.

Taylor was just about to retreat back around the corner, when someone broke away from the group, and all heads turned and stared in her direction. Even though she wanted to run, Taylor forced herself to walk towards her mom. Seconds later, she found herself being poked and prodded as her mom checked her for any injuries. That was embarrassing enough with all those people watching, but then her mom's concern was replaced by anger. Taylor tried unsuccessfully to avoid the sudden onslaught of swats, but Patricia had her arm in a death grip, and all she could do was yelp.

"How could you worry everyone like that?" Her mom's question was accompanied by a sixth and final smack.

"I'm sorry! I was comin' back!" She was trying to avoid looking at the search party.

Releasing her arm, Patricia took her hand instead, and led her towards the Sheriff's office. "See all the people standing there?"

Taylor whispered her answer. "Yes."

"Well they were willing to help search for you, in case you were hurt or in trouble. You're going to apologise for wasting their time."

"Okay." Taylor was too busy rubbing the sting out of her backside right now, to worry about being embarrassed. She could live with saying she was sorry. When they reached the group Patricia did not let go of her hand. When Taylor felt her mom squeeze her hand she stopped rubbing and looked up at her.

"Go ahead, we're waiting."

Focusing on the window just behind the searchers, she made sure not to make eye contact with any of them, especially her father.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time." The apology must have been accepted as the group started to disperse, and her mom tugged her further along the street, towards the store. She glanced back over her shoulder. Her dad wasn't following. He was talking to the Sheriff, but his eyes were locked onto her, making sure she didn't try and make a break for it. As if she'd even try when her mom was this mad. Taylor was starting to miss the dark, scary boathouse.

o

Taylor soon found herself sitting at the kitchen table, with her grandpa keeping watch. He hadn't said anything yet, but she was sure he wanted too. Her mom was standing beside the microwave, waiting for it to ding. It looked as if they were gonna feed her first, before they started reading her the riot act.

"Where's Vicky?" Taylor had to break the silence.

"It's almost midnight Taylor, she's in bed, where you should have been, hours ago." Patricia answered as she set the plate of reheated food in front of her daughter, then sat down opposite. Taylor ate quickly and quietly.

"Why don't you go to bed Jack, I know you're tired, and Taylor's not going anywhere" She looked directly at Taylor. "Are you?"

"No." That was crazy. Knowing her luck she'd run straight into her father.

Jackson lifted his walking stick. "You sure?"

Taylor wasn't sure who the question was aimed at, but she answered anyway. "I'm not goin' anywhere grandpa."

He rested his hand on her head as he passed behind her. "You better not! And don't think we won't be having a discussion tomorrow about some of the things you've been up to."

Taylor stared intently at the food her plate as her grandpa left the kitchen, then glanced up guiltily at her mom. If she'd been looking for even the slightest trace of sympathy she was out of luck. The woman was seething. Taylor shifted nervously on the chair. It couldn't be a good sign that her mom was that angry, that meant her dad was gonna be even angrier. She was mid thought when the door behind her slammed shut and she suddenly found herself lifted out of the chair by the scruff, dragged through the kitchen and into the living room, feet barely touching the ground. Yep, he's definitely madder than her mom, she thought as a single tug left her pants round her knees and she was hauled across his lap. Her shorts changed position just as fast. It was at this point Taylor found her voice.

"Dad, I'm ….."

"Zip it Taylor! I don't want to hear it right now!" He started to spank and Taylor started to struggle.

The powerful smacks reduced Taylor to tears in no time, but her dad didn't slow down until she stopped fighting him.

"Don't you EVER run away like that again! Do you hear me?"

"I…wo..nt! Dad…"

Two more swats and he was done. He lifted her back onto her feet and stood her in front of him, keeping a hold of her arms so she couldn't reach back.

He looked straight into her eyes. "We're going to sort this mess out once and for all, tonight."

Shit! Taylor thought, this wasn't even for blowing up the tree.

Taylor felt her arms being released and quickly ran her arm across her face to wipe away any remaining tears.

"Fix your pants and go sit at the table again. I'll be back down in a minute."

Gingerly, she pulled up her shorts and jeans over her burning backside as her dad disappeared upstairs. She'd known it wasn't gonna be easy or pleasant, but a bit of warning would have been nice. Sitting innocently one second and getting your butt roasted the next was not to be recommended.

o

Her mom was still sitting where she had been when Taylor had made her unorthodox exit. She sidled up to her, looking for a little comfort. It didn't happen.

"Didn't your dad tell you to sit down?"

Taylor fought the urge to scowl and made her way around the table, before lowering herself slowly onto the chair. The heat in her bottom intensified for a few seconds before levelling off at a dull roar. Folding her arms on the table, Taylor rested her head on top, closed her eyes, and wished she could just go to bed.

"RIGHT!" Her dad smacked the table in front of her making her jump.

"Start talking." He looked a bit calmer as he sat down beside Patricia.

"Bout what?" When it looked as if her father was going to grab her she quickly added, "Running off or the tree thing?"

"Why don't you start with this morning? I warned you what would happen if you put a foot outside the door, didn't I?"

Taylor nodded. "I didn't. I climbed through the window."

"Jethro!" Patricia reached out to stop him moving from his chair to his daughter's side, but she wasn't quick enough.

Taylor braced herself, but he didn't touch her. He knelt down beside her, and spoke so softly she had to strain to hear him.

"I'll let you get away with that one. It's the only one, so the attitude better improve, fast."

"Sorry." She whispered as he moved away.

"Why did you run off?"

Taylor glanced at her dad before she dropped her head and answered. There was no way she was going to risk lying to him when he was in that sort of mood.

"I felt guilty when I heard mom."

"You what?" He sounded confused.

"I felt guilty when I heard mom." She repeated, "Cause I made her cry. Then Lucas's idea sounded good, so I went to meet him."

Patricia spoke before her dad had the chance to. "There's nothing wrong with feeling guilty. It means you regret what you did."

"Well I don't like it!" Taylor protested.

"You're not supposed to like it, that's how it stops you wanting to do the same thing again." Patricia gave her a small smile, and she relaxed a little.

Her father though, did not want her to relax just yet and fired another question at her. "Why didn't you come home with Lucas?"

She answered honestly. "Cause he made me angry when he chickened out, and it was all his flamin' idea in the first place. I just wanted more time to think."

"What was his idea? The bomb?"

"No. That was all me. He reckoned we wouldn't see each other this summer so he wanted to pull a Ferris Bueller.

"A Ferris Bueller?" He had no idea what his daughter was talking about.

"You've seen the movie dad. They cut school, steal a car and just have fun."

"You were going to steal a car?"

"What? No. That's just the movie. I can't believe you don't remember it. It's a classic!"

"You're spending too much time with DiNozzo!"

Taylor sighed. "I just needed to think, that's all. I thought you wanted me to think."

"The last time I told you to think you just tried to justify your actions." Jethro sat back in the chair and folded his arms. "Alright, let's have it. What conclusions did you come to this time?"

Taylor stood up, making her dad mirror her actions. "I'm not goin' anywhere." She pulled the scrap of fabric from her pocket. Sitting down again she set it on the table in front of her.

Her mom reached out to touch it. "This looks like …. Is this your sweatshirt?"

Nodding, Taylor's stomach lurched. She was afraid her mom was gonna cry again.

"It's all my fault." She finally admitted. "Except for Jesus." They were waiting for more.

"I shouldn't have …" Taylor was about to say borrowed then changed her mind. "Stolen the fireworks."  
"Go on." Her dad prompted.

"I shouldn't have decided to make a bomb. That was just stupid."

"Uh huh?"

"But the worst thing I did was …" This was not easy. "I should have listened to you, and not lit the fuse. I almost killed me, and you, and if you hadn't been there I might have hurt Lucas." There, the truth was out, and she did feel slightly better. She just hoped her mom and dad felt the same.

"Why did you light it?"

Taylor glanced up sheepishly. "I ah …." She slid her hands under the table in preparation for a lie.

"HEY!" Her father barked at her. "I want to see your hands!"

Reluctantly she rested her hands on the table. "I got mad cause you tried to stop me."

"That's it? You nearly killed yourself because you were having a temper tantrum?" Jethro was on his feet now. "How many times have I tried to drum it into that stubborn head of yours, that if I tell you do something, you do it, no questions asked."

"Now I know why." She might of mumbled, but she meant what she said.

Taylor became more and more uncomfortable as the silence stretched out. Her dad must be trying to decide what to do with her.

"You're grounded until we can trust you again, and you can prove you can do what you're told. The internet seems to land you in an awful lot of trouble, so for the foreseeable future your going to have restricted access. You can only go online if there's an adult present. As for the stealing, building a bomb and blatant disobedience, you already know you've got a strapping coming, don't you?"

"I know." Taylor was starting to feel sorry for herself. She might know what was gonna happen, didn't mean she had to like it. Besides, her butt was already sore.

"If I send you back to the corner are you going to stay there this time?"

"Yes." Crap! He was gonna strap her tonight, not tomorrow, as she'd hoped.

He nodded towards the doorway. "Go on then."

Taylor made her way back to the corner she'd been in that morning and tried to convince herself it wouldn't be that bad.


	28. Chapter 28

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 28**

Taylor tried to ignore whoever it was, moving about behind her. She had other things to worry about right now. Like what kind of crazy idea had made her think it was a good idea to come home. No, scratch that. She'd already been through this a thousand times in her head. What crazy idea had made her think blowing up a tree had been a good idea, was what she should be figuring out, but it was an answer she couldn't come up with. That was the reason she was standing in the flamin' corner again, waiting. Taylor resisted the urge to kick the wall in frustration. Her fate had been sealed the instant she'd found the fireworks. They had been way too big a temptation to resist. Why hadn't she just listened to Vicky? It made little difference that she'd come back. After all, she had to come home sometime, and her dad was always gonna strap her because of what had so nearly happened. It was just a case of getting it over and done with. Unfortunately she had been a lot keener to get it over with when she had been at the boatshed. Now she was standing in the corner, putting off the strapping was a much more preferable option. Next time she was gonna ….

"Taylor."

He was back. Swallowing hard, Taylor turned.

Patricia was standing in the doorway, leaning up against the frame, but her mom only warranted a quick glance. It was her dad she was interested in. Taylor had expected him to be standing in the middle of the room, strap in hand to psych her out, but he wasn't. Her father was sitting on the couch where he had spanked her earlier. The strap was still there, but it lay on the couch beside him. Now she realised why her mom was still in the doorway. She was blocking her escape route, and it was probably just as well, running seemed like the perfect idea. But then …

"Hey! Get over here!" Jethro demanded.

Taylor hesitated before slowly walking towards him, stopping just out of reach.

"Dad, do you have to?" Her eyes moved to the leather strap.

"You know I do. You put yourself in one hell of a dangerous situation."

"I know that, but …."

"But nothing. Now's a good time to start proving you can do as you're told."

Fine time to test someone Taylor thought as she stepped close enough for her father to take her hand and guide her to his side.

"Look at me Taylor." He waited until she raised her eyes. "You know we both love you, right?"

Taylor looked back at her mom, then nodded, chewing at her lip as she did so.

"Why are you being punished?"

She dropped her eyes again.

"Eyes up Taylor." He tapped her under the chin.

"Cause I did somethin' dangerous and disobeyed you."

"Uh huh. And just so you know, if you hadn't come home under your own steam tonight, or accepted full responsibility for your actions instead of blaming everyone else, you'd be getting a whole lot more than I'm gonna give you now. Do you understand?"

Nodding, Taylor, despite her current situation, felt a little better.

"You ready to get this over with?" He asked as he squeezed her hand.

"Does it make any difference?" Taylor was willing to try anything to stall what was coming.

"Nope." Jethro let go of her hand and quickly unfastened her pants.

"Didn't think so." Taylor told the floor, which was a lot closer than it had been a second ago.

"Give me your hand Taylor."

Groaning, she reached behind her so that her dad could hold it safely out of the way. It was just a pity he wasn't quite so considerate about her butt.

When the first lick produced a blazing line of fire across her backside Taylor suddenly decided she did not want to be where she was, and tried unsuccessfully to wriggle off her dad's knees and onto the floor.

"Stay still!" He ordered as he brought the strap down again a little bit lower than before.

Taylor renewed her struggle. "I can't… it burns! …Dad !" She started to cry when she felt herself being held tighter.

Another four licks and Taylor's behind and the top of her thighs were well and truly ablaze. At first she thought he was just waiting for her to stop fighting and only realised he was done when he released her hand, and helped her up. Still crying, Taylor shifted her weight from one leg to another, trying to extinguish the flames, as her dad eased her pants back into place. The clothing did not help, and just made her cry harder. She reached back to pull the fabric off her skin. If that was getting off easy Taylor was so glad she'd come back and owned up. Letting her father pull her closer into a hug, she tried in vain to forget about the fire in her pants as she cried into his t-shirt.

The longer her dad held her, the more she calmed down. It took a while, but eventually Taylor got enough control over her sniffles to speak.

"That hurt!" She complained.

"Not as much as being blown to pieces." He stated simply.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

Taylor lifted her head up from her dad's shoulder to check if her mom was still there. She was, only now she was right behind her instead of the doorway. Thankfully now the anger was gone from her face. Taylor did not want any more swats.

"Don't I get a hug too?" Her mom asked.

Taylor narrowed her eyes. "That depends. You gonna smack me again?"

"Only if you deserve it." Patricia replied, narrowing her eyes just like her daughter.

"Huh." Taylor gave the impression she was thinking about it, before wrapping her arms tightly around her mom. "That's alright then."

Within fifteen minutes Taylor was in bed and out cold, ordeal over.

Patricia found Jethro waiting outside the girls' bedroom as she eased the door closed.

"Notice anything when you hugged her?" He asked.

"You mean the cigarette smoke?"

""Yeah."

"I think Vicky's guilty of the same thing. Why didn't you say anything to her?"

Gibbs smirked. "Got a better idea. Gonna try marine style."

"You do know you can't just shoot them, don't you?"

"Don't worry, that's only the last resort." He took Patricia's hand and pulled her along the landing towards their room. "When this so called 'vacation' is over I'm gonna take you on a real one. Anywhere you want to go. Just us. No kids. "

o

Awake, but still buried under the duvet, Taylor felt the mattress dip as someone sat down beside her.

"You planning on staying in bed all day?" Jethro was trying to work out from the lump in the quilt which way was up. His daughter had a tendency to move about when she slept.

Taylor shifted a little. "Might as well." She mumbled. "Besides, I think you broke my butt."

Jethro pulled down the cover to reveal a tangled mess of red hair. "I did not break your butt."

"Did. Still hurts." She told him with a pout, before pushing herself up onto her knees. "Where's Vicky?"

"Downstairs."

"Grandpa?"

"Store."

"He still mad?"

"You can find that out for yourself when you get up."

Grabbing the quilt, Taylor lay down and pulled it over her head again in one fluid motion. "No thanks. I think I'll stay here."

"You're gonna get real hungry if you spend all day up here."

Taylor quickly poked her head out again. She was already hungry. "You're gonna let me starve?"

"Don't do room service." Ruffling her hair he stood up and walked towards the door. "You won't starve. Not if you hit the shower and make it downstairs before someone else eats the pancakes you mom's keeping warm for you." Grinning to himself he added. "You better get a wriggle on though, you know how much I like pancakes."

o

The carrot her dad had dangled in front of her had been enough to get her out of bed, and now she was up Taylor didn't feel quite so sorry for herself. Granted, her backside still had an aversion to sitting down, but she'd live.

Vicky didn't mention the fact that Taylor ate standing up, but did aim the occasional sympathetic glance in her direction.

"Are you seeing Patrick today Vicky?" Patricia asked.

"Yeah. That's okay isn't it?" Vicky looked worried.

"It's fine, but don't make any arrangements for the next couple of days. Your uncle has something planned."

That caught Taylor's interest. "For me too?"

Her mom nodded.

"What?" Taylor asked suspiciously.

Patricia took Taylor's empty plate from her hand. "I think your dad wants to surprise you."

Vicky's face lit up, she loved surprises.

Taylor however, knew her father way better than Vicky did. He was up to something. She was still being punished after all. "Is it bad? Cause if its fishin' I ain't goin'! I'm grounded, remember."

Patricia smiled. "It's not fishing Taylor and its not bad."

Taylor took a breath in preparation for her next question, but her mom placed a finger over her lips before she could speak.

"That's all the information you're getting out of me, so either forget about it until tomorrow or go interrogate your dad."

Taylor released the breath she'd been holding when Patricia removed her finger. She wasn't going to find out anything more until her dad decided to talk, and he wouldn't do that. For now she'd just have to put up with her gut trying to warn her, that her father had some sort of alterior motive.

o

Once Vicky had gone, it didn't take Taylor long to get bored in the kitchen, so she wandered through into the store. Folding her arms, Taylor leant on the counter and watched her grandpa serve a customer. She briefly wondered what her dad had planned and more importantly, why, but came up with nothing. There was always her grandfather, but he might still be angry. Deciding it was time to start earning brownie points, Taylor held the door open as the woman left, before walking back over to her grandpa. She wasn't that stupid though, and kept the counter between them, just in case. Looking guiltily at him, Taylor emptied the pocket of her jeans onto the counter top and sorted the coins and bills out from the rubbish. She returned the useless bits and pieces before sliding the money over to her grandfather.

"What's this for?" Jackson asked as he quickly totalled it up in his head. Seven dollars and thirty six cents.

"It's for the fireworks. I know it's not enough, but it's all I have."

"I don't want your money Taylor." He pushed it back towards her.

"But I don't wanna be a thief." Taylor protested.

Jackson sighed. "Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you're a thief. You're not planning on taking anything else you don't own, are you?"

"No."

"Did your dad spank you?"

"Yeah. Twice."

"Well then you've been punished. You can't change what you did, just what you're going to do."

"But you said last night …" She didn't finish what she had been about to say. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to remind him.

"I was worried and angry, like everyone else. You shouldn't have run off like that Taylor, you had all of us worried sick."

"Sorry."

"Uh huh, and I'm sure if you do it again you'll be even sorrier."

Taylor was pretty sure that was a threat. "I know."

Jack nodded and his face softened. "Well then, are you gonna stand here all day talking, or are you going to give me a hand? The floor doesn't sweep itself you know."


	29. Chapter 29

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

_I know this story has turned into a monster but hopefully it will end soon._

**Chapter 29**

"Come on you two! Up and at 'em!" Jethro announced as he banged on the door and strode into the girls' bedroom. He looked straight to the window and opened the curtains, flooding the room with light. It did not have the desired effect though, as two heads quickly disappeared under the covers. He clapped his hands together loudly. "Time's wasting girls!"

The lump in Taylor's bed moved slightly, and the quilt appeared to speak. "Is there a fire? Cause if there ain't I'm stayin' right here."

Jethro pulled the covers off his daughter and onto the floor. "Up!"

Taylor kept her eyes closed and curled up onto her side. "Aw come on dad, it's too early." She mumbled, still too sleepy to care if the quilt was gone.

"NOW!" He thundered.

Both girls sat bolt upright. Vicky looked startled, but Taylor glared at him.

"It's not nice to wake someone up that quick! A person could have a heart attack or somethin'!"

"Keeps you alert Taylor, builds character, makes a good marine!" Convinced neither would fall asleep again Jethro made his way out of the room. "We leave in half an hour, whether you're dressed and fed or not. Oh, and you'll need your hiking boots."

Vicky stared over at her cousin, shell shocked.

"Something's goin' on. What'd we do?" Taylor asked, at a loss as to what she'd screwed up this time.

"Nothing." Vicky thought harder. "Have we?"

"I can't think of anything, but we'd better get a move on, I'm not goin' anywhere in my pyjamas." Taylor made a dash for the bathroom. If Vicky beat her to the shower, thirty minutes would be nowhere near long enough.

o

Vicky and Taylor sat quietly in the back of the car as it raced along the dirt road. Taylor was still trying to figure out what was going on, and was more than a little unnerved by her mom's absence. She knew it was completely irrational, but she had watched 'The Shining' a couple of weeks ago, and that had scared the crap out of her. Still, now was a good time to start questioning her father again, while he was driving and couldn't reach her. Earlier, over breakfast he'd started to get annoyed by her interrogation.

"Where are we goin' dad?" She asked for about the hundredth time.

He sighed and glanced at her in the mirror. " I told you earlier, you'll just have to wait and see. Now enough with the questions."

She wasn't finished. "You're not gonna kill anything are you?"

"WHAT?" He didn't bother with the mirror this time and briefly looked over his shoulder. "What would I kill?"

Taylor shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a fish, or something furry, or us."

"I'm not going to kill anything Taylor. Have you been watching horror movies again?"

Sliding down in her seat, Taylor was embarrassed by her question. She knew her dad wouldn't hurt her. That flamin' movie messed with your mind. She'd have to remember to thank Tony for recommending it.

"Maybe." Taylor confessed.

"Uh huh." His daughter's imagination was already overactive and didn't need any extra help. "No more, do you hear me?" He checked the mirror again. "I want an answer Taylor, and don't roll your eyes at me."

"Got it dad. No more horror movies."

The car turned onto an extremely narrow, winding track. Wherever they where, they must be getting close to their destination so Taylor abandoned her line of questioning, before she told her dad something else he didn't know about.

o

Finally the car came to a stop in a small area cleared of trees, which could just about be described as a car park. It looked as if they were the only people there. Despite her reservations Taylor climbed eagerly out of the car. This was her kind of place, tree covered hills stretched out all around them. Vicky was not so keen. She was busy trying to estimate how many bugs were out there. Taylor followed her dad round to the trunk of the car.

"I think that's your one." He handed her a backpack. "Put it on."

He lifted out another one for Vicky, then a much larger rucksack for himself. In fact the bag he had was big enough to hold a body Taylor thought, then quickly pushed the idea out of her head. That was just dumb. Now if he had produced an axe, that would have been a good reason to panic. "You gonna tell us what we're doing now?"

"Thought you'd of figured that out by now. We're going hiking." Jethro replied with a grin.

"We are?"

"Yep."

"Mom likes walking, why isn't she here?" This whole situation still didn't feel right. Abby would call it hinky.

"I thought your mom could do with a bit of a break from us. Right now she's probably sitting with her feet up, reading a book.

That was a plausible excuse Taylor figured as she watched her father help Vicky slip her arm through a shoulder strap.

Jethro took a step back and quickly checked them over. "All set?"

Taylor nodded. Vicky, though obviously nervous, copied her cousin's gesture.

"Good. Let's go!"

o

Jethro kept a cautious eye on Taylor as she darted ahead of them, and wondered where she got all her energy. The kid must have covered twice the distance he had, as she frequently darted off the track to explore. Vicky was much less enthusiastic about the great outdoors and stayed close by his side. He wasn't sure how the girl would react when she discovered they were going to be camping out.

Gradually he began to move faster, even though a lot of the ground they were covering was uphill. Vicky was now having trouble keeping up and had to stop every so often to catch her breath. The only thing Taylor stopped for was to climb a tree. If his daughter was smoking again, she wasn't doing it on a regular basis. Vicky was the one who was behaving like a smoker. She was even getting jittery. It wouldn't be long until the girl couldn't resist the urge to sneak off for a cigarette. He might as well help her along.

"This seems like a good enough place for a break." Taylor had vanished again, so Jethro gave a loud whistle and she appeared from behind them.

"Yeah?"

"We're taking a break. There should be water and snacks in your bags."

Vicky didn't touch her bag. "I have to find a bush. You coming Taylor?"

"Nah, I'm okay." She produced an apple from her bag and bit into it as she watched Vicky disappear into the trees.

"Don't go too far!" Jethro shouted, before he sat down on the ground beside Taylor. "You having fun?"

Mouth full, she nodded. From where she was sitting Taylor spotted a cloud of smoke from where Vicky was. What the hell was her cousin thinking? At least she was down wind. Taylor quickly swallowed. She had to stop her dad looking behind him.

"How far are we going?" Taylor asked, trying not lo look towards Vicky.

"Oh we have a long way to go yet."

"Really?" Maybe today was going to be good after all. "You been here before?"

"Yep. Quite a few times. It's a great place to camp."

"Did you come on your own?"

"Sometimes."

"Did you bring ….." Taylor changed her mind about asking that question. She didn't want to know."

"No I didn't bring Kelly. That's what you were going to ask, wasn't it?"

"Maybe."

"Kelly wasn't exactly the outdoor type, she was more like her mom than me."

Taylor grinned. She'd finally found something she was better at than Kelly. Her sister might not even have been able to climb a tree properly.

A more relaxed Vicky emerged from the undergrowth and dropped to the ground beside them, mobile phone in hand. "Can't get a signal, not even one bar. Must be the mountains."

"Aw, are you missing Patrick?" Taylor teased. "And they're not mountains, they're hills."

"Whatever!" Vicky wasn't going to bite. "Are we going to head back to the car now?" This was not her idea of fun. She needed civilisation, and her phone.

"We're not going back tonight."

"We're not?" Taylor asked excitedly.

"What?" Vicky was horrified. "Where are we staying then?"

Jethro patted his rucksack. "Tent."

Vicky shook her head. "What about all the bugs, and snakes, or bears?" She stopped short of telling her uncle she wanted to go home, although that's what she wanted to do. This was turning into a nightmare. She hadn't even brought enough cigarettes to get her past dinnertime, never mind two days. Crap, crap, crap!

Jethro checked his watch. "Time we were moving again, we need to reach our campsite before dark."

Vicky's jaw dropped open. It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and she was already tired. Maybe Taylor had been right and her dad actually was trying to kill them.

o

The rest of the day followed a similar pattern. Walk, take a break, then walk some more. If Vicky had of been brave enough she would just have sat down and refused to move, but she wasn't. By the time they reached what her uncle had described as a campsite, Vicky was so relieved she didn't have to walk any further, she didn't even care anymore that they were going to be sleeping in a tent.

Taylor was given the task of collecting wood for a fire, and Vicky, not wanting to be given anything to do, slipped off to smoke her last cigarette.

When enough wood was collected Taylor watched as her dad placed the sticks and some paper inside a small circle of rocks, before holding his hand out. She stared at it for a couple of seconds before she realised what he wanted.

"Oh, right." Taking the lighter from her pocket she placed it onto his open palm. "Forgot about that." She told him sheepishly.

Vicky only showed her face again when the fire was lit and both tents were up. Not feeling the least bit guilty, she joined the other two sitting round the fire.

"Just about to send a search party out for you. Are you okay?"

Vicky felt a tad guilty at her uncle's concern. "I'm fine."

Taylor gave her a gentle shove. "Just avoiding all the work, weren't you?"

Changing the subject Vicky pointed towards the two small tents. "You sure the bugs can't get in there?"

"Not if you keep it zipped up." Jethro told her, not for the first time. He poked at the fire with a stick. "Fire's all ready. Who's hungry?"

o

Taylor was the first one to start eating and the last one to finish. She'd used up a hell of a lot of energy today, and was now fighting to stay awake. What she saw next woke her up pretty damn quick though. Reaching into his shirt pocket, Jethro took out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, lit it, and inhaled deeply. Vicky and Taylor looked at each other in amazement before turning to stare at Jethro again. He didn't even seem to notice they were watching.

"Dad?" Taylor suddenly wished she hadn't eaten quite so much. She'd been having such a good time she'd let her guard down, and now that uneasy feeling in her stomach returned with a vengeance.

"Yeah?" He looked at the cigarette, not her.

"What're you doing? You don't smoke, it's bad for you."

Jethro took another draw before answering.

"Well if it's so bad, why are you two still smoking?"

Vicky's jaw dropped.

"Who told you that?" Taylor tried to sound surprised.

"Didn't need anyone to tell me. Smoke clings to your hair and clothes Taylor, you already know that." He flicked the half smoked cigarette into the campfire.

"Just cause you smell of smoke doesn't mean you've been smoking. We probably smell like that now, cause you were smoking."

"Are you telling me you haven't been smoking again?" He asked his daughter calmly.

Taylor suddenly found the laces on her boots extremely interesting, and picked at them nervously. Her last spanking was way too fresh in her mind to risk either running or lying.

"Answer me Taylor."

"Maybe a couple." She mumbled then looked up at her dad. "That's all, and only sometimes. I don't wanna get hooked again.

Jethro regarded his daughter carefully, as he decided whether to believe her or not.

"She's telling the truth."

Both heads turned to Vicky, who shrugged. "Well she is. Taylor hardly ever smokes, even when everyone else does." For someone who was almost certainly next in line for interrogation Vicky didn't seem to be overly concerned.

"Okay, I'll buy that. Stand up." Jethro stood, and helped Taylor to her feet. "Empty your pockets."

"I thought you believed me." She sounded hurt, but all her dad did was raise an eyebrow in warning and hold out his hand.

"Fine." Taylor did as he asked. For once it wasn't as if she had anything to hide.

Search over, Taylor was tempted to say I told you so, but made do with looking smug.

"No more Taylor, not even sometimes. If I smell smoke on you again it won't just be bad for your heart and lungs, it'll be bad for your backside too. Got it?"

The smug look quickly vanished. "I got it."

"Good." He nodded towards her tent. "Go get some sleep."

"Isn't Vicky comin' too?" She glanced at her cousin who hadn't moved from the fire.

"Vicky and I are going to have a bit of a chat before she goes to bed." Leaning down he whispered into her ear. "Don't you want to fall asleep before Vicky? I thought you said she snored."

That was a really good point, her cousin's snoring wasn't very loud, but could be a bit annoying. Giving her dad a quick hug she disappeared into the tent.

o

"So what do you have to say for yourself?" Jethro had joined his niece beside the fire again.

"About what?"

He rubbed his hands across his face. The girl was starting to sound like Taylor. "About you smoking."

"I don't have to say anything. I'm not twelve!" She spat out.

Okay, maybe she sounded more like Taylor with a whole lot of teenager thrown in for good measure. "You're fourteen Vicky. That's nowhere near old enough to smoke."

"Whatever!" Vicky stood up and spun round. She'd heard enough.

Unfortunately she only managed two steps before Jethro clamped his hand around her arm and stopped her.

"You're not going anywhere. Now sit down!" Not wanting to wake Taylor, Gibbs didn't shout, but left the girl in no doubt he meant business.

"You can't tell me what to do." She complained, but sat down anyway.

"Yes I can. Your father and I had quite a long conversation last night. And just so you know, you won't be treated any differently than Taylor." He paused just long enough to made sure she understood. "We'll start again, shall we?"

Vicky didn't speak, although some of the fight seemed to have left her."

"So what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Alright, I smoke, big deal!" Not all of the fight was gone. "I like it, and I'm not going to quit!"

"Oh you'll quit! The only say in the matter you're gonna have is which way you want to do it."

Jethro gave her the opportunity to speak, but she didn't take it. Instead Vicky tried to stare him out. That was never going to happen , and she quickly looked away.

"On your feet, and empty your pockets."

Vicky's hand moved automatically to her uncle's pack of cigarettes she'd slipped into her pocket when he'd been talking to Taylor, then said the only thing she could. "No."

******************IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR WORDSWONTSTOP - TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK**********************************


	30. Chapter 30

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 30**

Who would of thought such a little word would get such a big reaction. Vicky's head spun with the speed at which Jethro pulled her up and tucked her under his arm, but that was nothing compared to the sting he left in her backside when he allowed her to straighten up.

"Empty your pockets." Gibbs repeated.

Still a bit stunned, Vicky stared at the man as if he was talking gibberish. Jethro took that as another sign of defiance and quickly bent her over, swatting her behind half a dozen times, like before. This time when she stood up again, Vicky's hands went straight to her pockets. Quickly, before her uncle could start spanking again, Vicky held out the contents of her pockets, as she blinked back rapidly forming tears. When Jethro removed his cigarettes and her lighter, all Vicky was left with was half a pack of gum, and a nasty feeling the man in front of her wasn't very impressed by her recent theft.

"Stealing, Vicky?" He asked softly.

Right now, trying to make her feel guilty was not going to work, it just got her back up. "What else was I supposed to do? You didn't tell us how long we were gonna be stuck out here. I haven't any left, and all you wanted to do with them was get some dumb lesson across to Taylor." She shrugged. "No point wasting them." Vicky sounded a lot calmer than she felt, she didn't just want those cigarettes, she needed them.

"Not just Taylor." Jethro crushed the pack and tossed it over Vicky's head, into the fire.

Vicky watched as her only source of nicotine went up in flames. Now she was mad. "Yeah, like that's gonna make a whole lotta difference. I'll just get more tomorrow." Turning back to Gibbs as if she had nothing to worry about, Vicky smiled sweetly at him. "Can I go to bed now? After all we do have a long walk back in the morning."

"Who said we're going back tomorrow?"

That stopped her in her tracks. He was kidding, right?

Jethro almost grinned at the flicker of uncertainty that flashed across her face. That should have a bigger effect on her, than kicking off about the stealing. "Good night Vicky."

o

"You okay?" Taylor whispered as Vicky crawled awkwardly into her sleeping bag.

"Not really. Your dad packs one hell of a wallop."

"Yeah, I know." She propped herself up on her elbows. "You got off easy though."

"How do you figure that?" Vicky asked, backside still burning.

"He didn't spank you for stealing."

"No, but he burnt the cigarettes, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Ah …stop smoking?"

"Why should I?"

Vicky wasn't really looking for an answer to that question, but Taylor gave her one anyway.

"You might as well. I mean you have no cigarettes, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and I wouldn't want to be in your shoes if my dad catches you smoking again. You haven't seen him really pissed at you yet, and if you think his hand is bad you really don't want to find out what his belt's like."

"That wasn't pissed?"

Taylor laughed. "That was so NOT pissed, and if you think it was you're in for a hell of a shock."

Her cousin's information was not helping. "Just shut up and go to sleep Taylor."

Still smiling, Taylor lay back down again. Vicky was going to stop smoking whether she realised it yet or not.

o

Not sure if Vicky was going to do something stupid like taking off on her own, Jethro unrolled his sleeping bag close to the entrance of the girls' tent. Lying back, hands behind his head, he gazed at the countless stars above, and listened to the whispers coming from inside the tent. When he had confronted the two of them earlier, he had been surprised by the fact it wasn't Taylor who had the problem, and even though he wasn't happy about her sneaking the odd cigarette he was impressed by her honesty. At least now he wasn't going to have to make her smoke the whole pack to make her sick, the way his dad had when he'd caught him smoking. The thought of it still made him feel queasy. Her innocence also made dealing with Vicky much easier. His niece absolutely hated being out here, and while lengthening their trip might help convince her to give up smoking, it would also reward Taylor who couldn't get enough of the great outdoors.

The whispers eventually trailed off, and Vicky's snores were soon filtering through the thin fabric of the tent, before Jethro finally allowed himself to relax. He was just drifting off when the sound of the door being slowly unzipped alerted him to a possible escape. Lying still, feigning sleep, he waited to see what was going on. A sleeping bag was tossed out through the now open door, but it wasn't Vicky who followed close behind it. Taylor closed the door again to keep the bugs out before taking a good look around. Although he wasn't far from the tent it took Taylor a few seconds to spot him in the dark, but when she did she dropped her sleeping bag down on the ground beside him and lay on top of it.

"Too hot in there." She mumbled, before rolling onto her stomach and quickly falling asleep. Jethro relaxed again, there was no danger of Taylor going anywhere tonight, the kid was wiped out. It was a pity he couldn't make her this tired when they were at home, it just might keep her out of trouble.

o

Jethro had Vicky and Taylor up at the crack of dawn and gave the two girls the task of taking down the tents while he cooked breakfast. Judging by the angry and sullen looks Vicky kept sending in his direction the girl's attitude had not improved. She didn't say a word to him until they had all finished eating.

"I want to go back."

"We're not going back until you agree to stop smoking." He stated calmly.

Vicky glared at him. "I told you already. I don't want to. It's none of your business anyway!"

Taylor looked from one to the other. Both seemed pretty determined, but her money was on her dad.

"Well then, when you change your mind you can let me know and we can head back. Until then we keep walking." He handed the map and compass to Taylor. "Let's see if you can get us to our next camp site."

Taylor's face lit up and she immediately began to study the map. This trip was just getting better and better.

o

Vicky spent most of the day trying to figure a way out of the nightmare she was in. By dark it was becoming more evident that her uncle was serious about not going home until she agreed to his conditions. When the craving for nicotine hit her, it was very tempting to try and make her own way back, but even if she managed to get back to the car without getting lost, she wouldn't be able to get any further than that. Apart from the fact she didn't have the car keys, she couldn't drive. There was nothing else for it. She was going to have to swallow her pride and agree to quit.

Vicky looked over at her uncle who was sitting on the other side of the fire. When she marched over to him he was pointing something out on the map to Taylor.

"Fine! You win! I'll quit!" Although tempted, Vicky stopped short of stomping her foot, settling instead for waving her arms around.

Jethro whispered something to Taylor, making her scramble to her feet and disappear into their tent, before he spoke to her.

"Sit down."

"Why? You win! What else is there to say?"

"It's not a battle of wills Vicky. Now sit!"

Taylor's warning flashed through her head, reminding her not to push the man too far. Sighing, she sat down and waited for the lecture.

From his shirt pocket Jethro produced a little foil square that Vicky recognised as a nicotine patch. "Roll your sleeve up, this will take the edge off."

Afraid that he would change his mind, Vicky bit back the urge to ask him why the hell he couldn't have given her the patch the day before.

Taylor reappeared and dropped her sleeping bag outside the tent, just in time to see the patch. She sat down beside her cousin. "What's that?"

"Nicotine patch." Although Vicky knew it couldn't work that fast, the fact that it was there, made her relax a bit.

"What does it do?" Taylor had never seen one before.

"Puts nicotine into the blood stream and helps you stop smoking." Jethro could almost see the cogs starting to turn in his daughter's head.

"So it's like smoking, but you get the kick without it being bad for you?" That sounded a bit too good to be true, and if it was, why didn't they just sell those instead of cigarettes?

"Something like that." It was time to change the subject. He pointed to her sleeping bag. "You were going to bed, remember?"

Taylor shook her head. "No way, I want one of those."

Jethro stood up and gave her a warning look. "Not a chance Taylor, they're supposed to help people stop smoking, not start!" Taking a hold of her hand he pulled her gently to her feet and pointed her towards her sleeping bag. "Go. Now. We have another early start tomorrow." Thankfully Taylor seemed to get the message and admit defeat. He watched her drag her bedding back into the tent, obviously making the point that she wasn't happy with him and it didn't matter how warm it was, she wasn't going anywhere near him.

Vicky giggled, and when her uncle looked down at her she quickly covered her mouth with her hand to try and stop herself.

"What?" He asked, exasperated, wondering why it was so difficult to keep both of them happy at the same time.

"Nothing." Another giggle escaped as she stood up, the idea of Taylor expecting to be given a patch was cracking her up. "I'll go see if she's okay. Goodnight uncle Jethro."

o

In the morning Taylor was up first, and just itching to get moving. Map in hand she was keen to have another go at navigating. Vicky, eager to get back to civilisation wasn't far behind her cousin, and actually enjoyed the walk back to where the car was parked. She tried to work out what she wanted to do first when they made it home. It was a toss up between calling Patrick or treating herself to a nice long bubble bath.

On the ride home Vicky had the whole backseat to herself. Taylor had shaken off last night's bad mood and called shotgun.

Vicky decided to bite the bullet. "Uncle Jethro?"

"Uh huh?" He looked at her in the mirror.

"When we get back can I have another patch?"

"They're supposed to last twenty four hours Vicky."

"I know, but mine must have come off last night, and I couldn't find it this morning. I did look, I'm sorry." Vicky knew the patches weren't exactly cheap and felt bad about losing it.

Jethro glanced at Taylor who was staring intently out the passenger window. "You checked the tent and your sleeping bag?" It couldn't just of vanished.

"Yeah."

Slowing the car down, Jethro pulled over to the side of the road. "I'll get you another one." He made his way back to the trunk where his rucksack was and fished out another nicotine patch, before passing it to Vicky. At least it looked as if she was willing to give it a go now. That was promising.

Taylor jumped as he opened her door. Oh yeah, she was guilty as hell. He crooked his finger at her. "You, out!" He ordered calmly.

Shrugging, Taylor released her seatbelt and climbed out. Trying to look unconcerned, she leant back against the car and stuck her hands into the pockets of her pants.

She was not fooling him. He should of realised last night that his daughter was up to something when she'd given in so easily, and then opted to sleep in the tent. "Where is it Taylor?"

"Where's what?"

"The patch."

"Why do you think I have it?" Taylor was not ready to give up yet.

He moved a little closer. "Don't make me look for it Taylor."

The intimidation worked. Swallowing nervously she removed her hands from her pockets and lifted the sleeve of her t-shirt. "Alright, you don't need to get mad. I was only testing it. If you ask me it sounds too good to be true." Gingerly she removed the patch from her arm.

Jethro raised an eyebrow when he saw how difficult it was to remove. There was no way that had come off by itself. The little brat had waited until her cousin had fallen asleep and peeled it off.

She dropped it onto his outstretched hand and he slipped it into his pocket.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get back into the car."

Taylor kept her butt against the car. "You first."

He tried not to grin as he shook his head. "Nope."

"But you're gonna smack me as soon as I move." She whined.

"Uh huh."

"Even when he's watching?" Taylor pointed behind him.

The instant her father turned to see who was there she moved like lightening and threw herself back into the car, closing the door safely behind her. Unfortunately she didn't think about locking it.

"Get back out here!" Jethro held the door open as Taylor slowly and very hesitantly complied.

"Turn round."

Sighing she turned and faced the car. She could see Vicky in the backseat, the traitor was trying not to laugh.

"Ow!" Taylor jumped at the swat, even though it wasn't hard it still stung.

"That's for stealing your cousin's patch."

"Ow! What was that one for?" Taylor asked as she felt herself being turned round to face her dad again.

"Trying to trick me." He held the door open as she fastened her seatbelt.

Feeling rather pleased with herself she smiled up at him. "What do you mean, trying?"

Narrowing his eyes, Jethro leaned in closer. "Alright, you tricked me." He looked from Taylor, to Vicky and back. But if either of you tell anyone, especially DiNozzo, I'm denying everything!


	31. Chapter 31

"_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 31**

"Hey!" What about the bags?" Jethro hadn't had time to undo his seatbelt before the girls were out of the car and racing into the store. He followed them a few minutes later and found his wife sitting in the middle of the couch, flanked by Taylor and Vicky.

"Thanks for helping with all the gear girls." He complained before dropping into an armchair.

"You look tired." Patricia told him.

"So would be if you had to keep up with this pair."

Taylor piped in. "Dad says you can come next time we go camping, and I can show you how to read a map."

"You can read a map now?"

"Yep, and use a compass."

"Are you going to teach me that too?"

"I might, if you're good." Taylor grinned up at her. She'd missed her mom not being around.

Patricia looked at each one in turn. "Did any of you actually wash when you were gone?"

"They don't have showers in forests mom."

"Well we do. Who's first?"

o

A squeaky clean Taylor found herself in charge of the store while her grandpa took a rare afternoon break. It wasn't as if they were busy, there had only been a couple of customers in the past hour. Slightly bored, Taylor tried to amuse herself by poking about the shelves to see if there was anything new she hadn't seen before. Her exploration was interrupted by the bell above the door, signalling the arrival of a customer. Taylor emerged from behind the shelves to find the Reverend Moore.

"I wondered when you'd have the nerve to show your face again." Swaying, he reached out and grabbed a shelf.

"Huh?" Taylor stepped back when she smelt the alcohol on his breath.

"You know exactly what I mean you little heathen."

Taylor kept her mouth closed, guessing now was not a good time to ask him what a heathen was. She'd ask her grandpa later, he'd know. Right now all she wanted was him to leave. The man creeped her out at the best of times, but now his demeanour was just plain scary.

He stumbled towards her, almost losing his balance. "Someone needs to ... knock the devil out of you! Just look .. at...you. You don't even ... have ...the decency.. to be ashamed!"

Taylor was so busy trying to make sense of his slurred words, she didn't see the powerful backhander coming. One second she was trying to back away, the next she was sitting on the floor, cheek burning painfully. Taylor scooted back and climbed to her feet, before turning and bolting towards the stairs. Heading straight to the bathroom she slammed the door behind her and locked it.

o

Taylor checked out the damage again in the mirror. She'd been hiding for almost half an hour now, and an impressive bruise was already forming below her right eye. There was also a nasty looking cut which ran almost the entire length of her cheekbone. How the hell was she gonna be able to hide that? Soaking a cloth in cold water she dabbed at her cheek. At least it wasn't bleeding much. She tried to convince herself it wasn't quite so bad, and when she cleaned it up she downgraded it from a cut to a scratch. Still going to be hard to hide though. The cool cloth felt good and eased the throbbing, so Taylor ran it under the tap again then held it to her face. It was time to think seriously about what she was going to do.

One thing Taylor was sure of was that she couldn't tell anyone what had happened. That would just open a whole new can of worms and upset her grandpa. He liked the man, and his church. She couldn't take that away from him. Taylor figured she'd deserved it, and could always avoid him for the rest of the vacation. The only decision Taylor would have to make under the circumstances was whether to lie about what had happened or to say nothing.

Eventually Taylor came to the conclusion that because she was such a hopeless liar, the only thing she could do was not tell anyone. It wasn't gonna be easy, so she figured she'd put it off for as long as possible. Cracking open the door, Taylor checked the coast was clear before darting into her bedroom.

Taylor was immediately met with the first flaw in her plan. Vicky was lying on her bed, flicking through a magazine, and instantly sat up when she saw her cousin's face.

"What the fuck?"

Ignoring the comment Taylor lifted a hooded top out of her drawer, pulling it quickly over her head, leaving the hood up, before sitting down and looking across at Vicky.

"Taylor, who did that? Is Ethan back?"

"No, it wasn't Ethan."

"Then who?"

"I can't say." She looked at Vicky pleadingly. "Please don't tell anyone."

"If you think no one is going to notice that you're crazy!"

"I know that, I just don't want to be interrogated yet. Maybe it'll look better in a few hours."

Vicky stared at her for what seemed to be a very long time. "I won't tell anyone."

Satisfied, Taylor lifted her psp off the table where it had been charging, hoping to lose herself in a game.

Leaving her cousin alone, Vicky knew her aunt needed to know. It was not going to look better in a few hours, if anything, it was going to be worse. She needed to get her aunt upstairs.

o

Vicky found Patricia and Jethro in the living room. She knelt down at the end of the couch where her aunt was.

"Could you go and check our beds are made properly?"

Patricia looked at her as if she'd gone mad. "What's going on Vicky?" She didn't miss the worried look.

"Please. Just check."

Jethro folded his paper and took off his glasses as Patricia made a beeline for the stairs. "Should I be worried?"

Vicky nodded, and Jethro quickly followed after his wife.

Patricia found Taylor on her bed, knees up in front of her as she leant against the headboard. Even though it was warm, she was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up, covering most of her face.

"Thought I'd check if you wanted to give me a hand with dinner."

The only response she got was a slight shake of Taylor's head.

Patricia sat down beside her. "Aren't you too hot in that?"

Again, a small head shake.

She glanced up at Jethro who was standing just outside the door. "Taylor, look at me."

"No." Taylor whispered.

"Don't you trust me?"

That hurt more than her face. "You know I do."  
Gently, Patricia lowered the hood. "Let me see."

With no other option, Taylor turned and faced her mom.

Aware that her daughter was watching carefully for her reaction, she tried not to look shocked. "What happened?"

Taylor reverted to shaking her head.

"Did you fall?"

"No."

"Were you fighting?"

"No."

"Did someone hit you?"

Taylor had already decided against lying, although it was tempting. "Maybe."

"Who?" Jethro asked as he stepped in through the door, ice pack in his hand. Taylor didn't seem surprised by his appearance.

"Doesn't matter."

"Who was it Taylor?" He asked, a little more firmly.

She lowered her eyes and focused on her games console. "I can't tell you."

Setting the pack down, he moved close enough to examine her, but when he reached out to touch her face she quickly pulled her head away.

"Don't! It hurts."

"Okay, I won't touch. Not if you tell me if it was a punch or a smack."

"What difference does that make?"

He raised an eyebrow at the question. "I want to make sure nothing's broken."

"Smack."

"Front or back of the hand?"

Taylor thought hard. "Back"

At least that was some information. Whoever had hit his daughter had been wearing a ring. It wasn't enough though, he wanted to know exactly who was responsible, but it could wait. He passed her the ice pack. "Here, hold that on it for a while." She didn't look so sure, so he added, "It'll help, I promise."

Taylor held the cold pack to her cheek. It did help, and it even cooled her down a little, she was slowly cooking in that sweatshirt.

"Did he hit you anywhere else?"

Taylor was beginning to get fed up with all the questions. "No dad, he only hit me once and I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

Patricia held her hand out. "You don't have to hide up here. Why don't you come downstairs and watch some TV."

"You gonna ask more questions?" If the interrogation was just changing location she was stayin' where she was, promise of TV or not.

Her mom looked at Jethro before she answered. "Not right now."

Relaxing, Taylor swung her legs off the bed and took her hand. She was feeling better already.

o

As Taylor spent the remainder of the afternoon watching TV she was aware of the occasional glance from her mom and dad, but thankfully they hadn't asked anymore questions. It appeared from her grandpa's reaction he'd been pre-warned not to say anything, and that suited her just fine. If she was lucky the whole thing would soon be forgotten about.

Her dad had different ideas though, and followed her upstairs when she was going to bed. Taylor tried to draw out the time she spent getting changed and cleaning her teeth, but knew it wouldn't make any difference, he'd still be waiting.

She tried to ignore him, sitting calmly on Vicky's bed. He didn't speak until she climbed under the covers.

"You ready to talk yet?"  
"I'm tired dad."

"Taylor ..." Jethro wasn't sure the best way to go about this.

If it hadn't been her right cheek that was hurt she'd have turned away and faced the wall.

"I'm not talking about it, so just leave me alone."

"Everyone's worried about you Taylor." He told her softly.

See, now he was trying to make her feel guilty. "Yeah? Well maybe I'll just go home then. I can stay with Tony. Even though she hadn't meant it, the idea did have a certain appeal.

"You're not going anywhere." Jethro moved over onto her bed, suddenly worried that his daughter had plans to take off again.

So much for that idea. Taylor didn't think she'd be brave enough to try that on her own. Her dad had been mad enough when she'd only gone a couple of miles away a few days ago, never mind a whole different state, like she'd done when they'd snuck off to New York. That hadn't exactly been successful. Nope. Not worth it. She'd be going home soon enough.

"I know I'm not, but I'm not sayin' anything either."

Taylor closed her eyes, hoping her father would finally get the message. She counted to one hundred before opening them again. Crap! He was still there.

"Why are you afraid to tell me who hit you?"

Ahhhhhhhhh... Taylor screamed inside her head. The man was gonna drive her nuts!

"I'm not. Why can't you just drop it?" Was he trying to make her lose her temper?

"Because I can't protect you unless I know who I'm protecting you from."

Oh, okay, maybe that made sense. "You don't need to protect me. I'm still grounded, so all I have to do is stay outta the store. Easy. Problem solved. Now can I go to sleep?

Jethro sighed. "Okay." Leaning down he kissed her forehead before switching off the bedside lamp. "I just want you to think about one thing."

"What?" Taylor asked suspiciously.

"How are you going to feel if he does the same thing to someone else?" The room went completely dark as he closed the door behind him.

That was so not fair! There was the guilt again. Now if he hit someone else it would be her fault. But then, what were the chances of someone else blowing up Jesus? Unless he was mad at Lucas too. Taylor sat up. How the hell was she supposed to sleep now? Almost before she realised what she was doing Taylor was making her way down the stairs.


	32. Chapter 32

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 32**

Taylor wasn't intending to go anywhere, but she wanted to hear what was going on. Sitting down near the bottom of the stairs she listened to the conversation drifting out from the living room. From what she could make out Vicky was the one facing the questions now. Her dad was like a dog with a bone, he was not going to let this drop. Not wanting to hear any more, Taylor slipped past the open door and into the store. It was not completely dark, some of the light from the street lamps filtered in through the windows. She sat down on the floor, back against the counter, and waited for a car to drive past. Taylor hadn't done this for a long time, but she liked the way the shadows changed as the headlights of the cars bounced off the shelves and walls. It was relaxing, just like trying to make out shapes in the clouds.

o

Jethro looked up when he heard someone racing down the stairs.

Vicky appeared in the doorway, still fully dressed.

"Taylor's not here."

"Did you check the bathroom?" Already on his feet, he didn't wait for Vicky's reply, wanting to check for himself.

"No I looked there." She called out after him.

Naturally thinking about what Taylor had said about going home he was worried that she might try to make it all the way back to DC on her own. As he searched the rooms upstairs he tried to convince himself that she wouldn't do something that stupid and dangerous, but New York kept springing to mind.

Jethro was beginning to panic. He was running out of places to look. Maybe he'd pushed her too hard. He met Patricia as he was heading down the stairs again. Just about to tell her that Taylor wasn't anywhere to be found, he stopped when Patricia put her finger on his lips to keep him quiet. He followed her down the rest of the stairs and into the store.

His blood pressure began to return to normal when he saw their daughter, fast asleep on the floor. When he scooped her up Taylor didn't wake, just mumbled something about shadows. Less than a minute later she was back in her bed, and Jethro used the opportunity to check out the bruise and scratch on her face. Whoever was responsible for it had given her one hell of a smack, and when he found out who it was, he was gonna make damn sure they didn't do it again.

o

Taylor wasn't patient enough to wait for Vicky to wake up the next morning. She needed to use her phone to email Lucas, who was also grounded. Her own mobile was under lock and key, or at the very least hidden, and she wasn't allowed on the internet without supervision.

Vicky responded to Taylor shaking her by swearing into her pillow. It didn't help. She was still awake now.

"I need to borrow your phone."

"You woke me up for that?"

"It's important."

"You're not gonna do anything stupid, are you?"

"No."

Vicky looked at her suspiciously before taking her phone out from under her pillow and passing it reluctantly to her cousin. "I'm going to take a shower. Put it back when you're done."

Not wasting any time, Taylor quickly went online, logged onto her email account and fired a warning message to Lucas. At least now he would know what the minister was capable of, and stay well clear when he was eventually allowed out. Her conscience was now clear. Didn't matter what her dad said now, she was not going to feel guilty, and he was just gonna have to suck it up.

A more confident Taylor put in an appearance downstairs, and didn't protest when both her mom and dad insisted on examining her cheek. When they were satisfied by the way it was healing, she helped herself to a bowl of cereal. Her dad sat down opposite her and stared. Ha! He was trying to make her feel guilty again. Taylor smiled at him in between spoonfuls of Rice Krispies. It was not going to work.

"What are we doin' today dad?"

"You haven't forgotten you're grounded have you?" He asked, thinking she sounded just a bit too happy.

"Nope. I thought you might want to wash the car, its awful dusty."

"You did, did you?"

"Uh huh."

"Maybe later."

"So what am I doing then?" Taylor was aware that he liked to keep her busy when she was grounded. Apparently it kept her out of trouble.

"You're going to spend some time with me in the store."

Taylor dropped the spoon into the bowl and looked over at him. She had not anticipated that, and wasn't sure what he was up to.

"Why?" The question just sort of slipped out. It didn't exactly fit in with her new air of confidence. "I mean, what do you need me for, if you're already there?"

"Don't you want to spend some time with me?" He sipped innocently at his coffee.

Taylor was not fooled, he might be good at the whole guilt thing, but she was on high alert. "Course I do. I was just wondering."

Thinking he had won, Jethro smiled at his daughter before standing up. "Well, when you're done here you can come on through then."

Starting to eat again, Taylor watched her dad leave. He was definitely up to something. Now all she had to do was figure out what.

o

Everything looked normal when Taylor went to join her father, although she had to admit to herself that even though she knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her she was still a little nervous. There were no customers and he was seated at the small table, his back to the door, playing cards spread out in front of him. He nodded to the chair opposite as he pushed it out from the table with his foot. "So. What do you want to play?"

As soon as the first customer entered the store, Taylor realised what he was trying to do. From where she was sitting Taylor had a clear view of the door, and whoever came in, while her dad was in the perfect position to watch her reaction. Oh, that was sneaky she thought, but now she knew what was going on it could be easily stopped.

Taylor played along with his little scheme for an hour or so, enjoying the games, until the perfect customer appeared. When the bell above the door jingled Taylor dropped the cards she'd been holding and shot to her feet, almost knocking over the chair. Her actions, and the expression she conjured up must of convinced her dad that the man he was looking for had just shown up. Standing up in record time, Jethro spun round, already all fired up, expecting to confront 'her attacker'. Instead he found a timid, extremely short woman, who must have been at least eighty. Startled, the woman took a hasty step back, and Taylor stifled a giggle as her dad hastily apologised for scaring her. She couldn't remember ever seeing him blush the way he was doing right now, as he dropped a length of washing line into a paper bag. The small woman was still muttering to herself about the state of the world today, as she hastily left with her purchase.

When Jethro closed the door safely behind the disgruntled customer he folded his arms and glared at his daughter, who couldn't help but grin at him.

"It's not gonna work dad."

"What's not going to work?"

"I'm not going to be scared if you're here, besides, don't you think he's gonna avoid this place for a while in case I told on him?"

It was obvious that her father wasn't happy that his plan had been scuppered, but he wasn't angry. He gently pulled her up, before taking her place on the chair, lifting Taylor onto his lap, and wrapping his arms around her.

"I just don't understand why you want to protect him."

"I already told you, I'm not protecting him."

"Then who are you protecting Taylor?"

"If I told you that dad, you'd figure out who it was. I do want to tell you, honest."

Sighing, he held her tighter.

Time to drop the subject. "Can we play poker now?"

"Who taught you to play poker? Tony?"

"Nope. Dorothy. She's really good. I owe her a lot of money."

"You have gambling debts?" He asked with mock seriousness.

That sounded awesome, just like something off the TV. "Yep, but its okay, Dorothy never asks me for it, and even if she does I can always give her my college fund."

"Uh huh. What are you going to use for college then?"

"That's easy. Tony says the best part of college is the parties, and you don't have to be a student to go to them."

"He did, did he?" DiNozzo needed a good kick in the pants.

"Well not the part about not having to be a student, I figured that bit out for myself."

"You might be better talking about college with your mom, not Tony."

Taylor slipped off his lap and gathered the cards together. "I'll deal."

o

The topic of Taylor's black eye was not brought up again, so by dinner Taylor decided it was safe enough for a little teasing.

"Grandpa." She waited until he looked over at her. "Dad nearly scared an old lady to death today."

When everyone turned to stare at Jethro he actually blushed again.

"Thanks Taylor."

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Mrs White." He admitted.

Taylor grinned at her dad's embarrassment. "I thought she was gonna hit him." Okay that might have been a slight exaggeration, but what the hell, it would have been funny.

"Wouldn't have been the first time." Jack still had his eyes locked on his son.

Taylor watched in amazement as her dad's face actually became redder.

"Oh come on dad, you don't need to tell Taylor…."

"That nice little old lady hit you?" Taylor wasn't sure if she should be shocked or give into the laughter building up inside. The mental image of that tiny woman swatting her dad won, and she melted into a fit of the giggles.

Unfortunately for Jethro, his father was determined to relate the story about when Ed and himself had been caught stealing apples from Mrs White's garden. Ed had escaped, but the woman had dragged him home by the ear, swatting him every few yards, just for good measure.

This was not doing his tough guy image any favours. "Got her back though." As soon as he'd said it Jethro wished he hadn't. His dad was giving him a strange look.

"And just how did you do that son?"

Now he knew how Taylor felt when she let things slip out by mistake. "Long time ago dad, I don't think 'how' is really important."

He managed to aim a glare in his daughter's direction. Oh she was loving this.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Jack warned. "What did you do?"

When he hesitated, Taylor answered for him. "You cut the tree down, didn't you?" She was both surprised and impressed.

Not confirming or denying anything, Jethro kept his eyes firmly on Taylor. "Isn't it time you went to bed?"

"Too early dad." She just managed to get out before a whole new fit of laughter took over.

"She's right, isn't she?" Vicky grinned at him, pretty sure Taylor had hit the nail on the head. So was everyone else at the table.

"Maybe." He answered guiltily.

Now it was only the two men in the room not laughing.

"Come on dad. I was only twelve or thirteen, it was a long time ago. I'll buy her a new tree, and even plant it for her." Jethro couldn't believe he was feeling guilty about this.

"You're right you will, and don't think I won't be talking to Ed too." Jackson seemed a little happier now.

Taylor wasn't finished though. "Aren't you gonna ground him grandpa?" How she managed to keep a straight face while she asked that question she had no idea, but she was concentrating so hard she didn't notice her dad moving round the table towards her.

Vicky nudged her cousin. "Ah, Taylor!"

Taylor turned to see what Vicky was looking at. Her father was right beside her. "Oh, hi dad."

Lifting her up, he tossed a giggling Taylor over his shoulder. "Don't you 'hi dad' me!" He told her as he playfully patted her butt.

"Ohhhhhhhh, you're in big trouble dad. Don't you know its wrong to kill trees?"

Jethro carried her towards the door. "Where are we goin'?"

He gave her another gentle swat. "Anywhere you're not gonna dig me in any deeper!"


	33. Chapter 33

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 33**

Patricia and Taylor were both in the kitchen when Ed and Jethro stomped in through the back door.

"What took so long? I thought it was one little tree you were planting." Patricia lifted two mugs down off the shelf as Jethro reached for the coffee.

"One tree? The woman has a list of jobs about a foot long that she wants done. We're only here to pick up a few things, we have to go back again."

Taylor put a hand over her mouth to hide her grin.

"Can I shoot her Jethro?" The sheriff took a step towards her, and Taylor stopped trying to hide her smile.

"Nah. We'd just have to dig another hole." He leaned against the counter.

Ed sat down beside her. "Looks like you've been in the wars." Putting his finger under her chin he eased her head to the side to get a better look. "What happened?"

She shrugged. "I didn't duck fast enough."

"I can see that. Who was swinging?"

"Doesn't matter." Taylor quickly changed the subject. "Was Mrs White mad?"

The sheriff narrowed his eyes and frowned. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, payback's a b…"

"Taylor!" Her mom warned.

"Bad thing." Taylor innocently finished her sentence. "You really gotta go back?"

"Yeah. Maybe we should send you instead, it is all your fault."

"I'd like to see you pin that on me, I have a good alibi."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I wasn't born. Besides, we're goin' out, aren't we mom?"

"In about two minutes." Patricia looked over at her. "Are you planning on wearing shoes, or are you going to walk about town in your socks?"

Taylor ducked her head under the table to check her feet, before hastily going off in search of her sneakers. It wasn't always easy to remember where she'd kicked them off.

Ed watched Taylor disappear down the hall before turning back to her parents. "Nasty bruise. You have no idea who did that to her?"

"We've tried, but she's not talking, and we can't exactly force it out of her." Jethro knocked back the last of his coffee. "Drink up. I'll go grab the tools."

"What happened to lunch?" The disappointment was clear in Ed's voice. He'd been planning on taking a longer break.

Jethro shouted his answer back down the hall. "You don't deserve to eat. I just remembered whose idea it was to steal the apples."

o

Taylor trailed along happily beside her mom towards their first stop of the afternoon, the bookstore. Under normal circumstances this would not have appealed to her, but a combination of boredom at being stuck indoors and her mom trying to convince her to try reading something just for fun, Taylor had agreed to give it a go. It wasn't as if she'd never read books before, she had, but that was for school so fun didn't enter the equation. Tony had always told her that reading books was a waste of time, because if they were any good they'd be made into movies anyway. That made a lot of sense. Her mom had explained last night that reading was a lot like watching a movie, except it played in your head and you could pick any actors you wanted for the characters. So Taylor had agreed to try, and because she was new to the whole book thing, her mom was going to help her choose a good one.

Patricia pointed her in the right direction, then waited patiently as Taylor lifted one book up after another, carefully reading the back of each before putting it back where she'd found it. It was a big decision. Her mom had been so excited when she'd agreed to give it a go Taylor didn't want to disappoint her by picking a bad one. Picking the wrong one would result in her giving up after only a few pages.

Finally, Taylor passed one of the books to her mom. "Can I have this one?" If it had been a DVD she would have rented it, so that couldn't be a bad sign.

She read the description before answering. "You've picked a good one. You want to keep looking while I go and pay for it?" Patricia was hoping Taylor would spot something that might entice her back again. After all, the kid had a great imagination, that's what landed her in trouble so often. Reading should be something she enjoyed, but Taylor had never given it a chance before.

As she joined the queue Patricia smiled to herself. The monitor behind the counter showed Taylor, at the other side of the store, eagerly searching through more books. Just about to look away, her attention was drawn back to the screen when Taylor dropped the book, then backed up slowly, until there was nowhere else to go. It took her brain a few moments to process what happened next. The Reverend Moore appeared on the left of the screen. Patricia watched the man stride straight over to Taylor and almost lift her off her feet, as he grabbed the front of her t-shirt and shook her hard enough to bang her head off the wall. There was no sound to accompany the picture, but Taylor was shaking her head in response to whatever he was saying. Abandoning the queue to go to Taylor's rescue, Patricia only managed a few steps before the minister stormed out of the store, door slamming behind him. Glancing at the monitor she could see Taylor rubbing the back of her head before picking up the book and setting it back.

All the pieces fell into place. Patricia, aware that Taylor was making her way over to her, stepped back into the line again. She wanted to see if she said anything about the incident. Taylor was soon beside her, hands in her pockets and although she looked rattled, said nothing about what had just happened.

"You okay?" Patricia asked.

Taylor nodded and leaned into her, keeping her eyes locked on the door. Placing her arm around her daughter's shoulders she thought about what she was going to tell Jethro and Jack. The only thing Patricia was sure of right now was if they didn't kill him she just might.

o

Jethro returned later that afternoon to find Taylor sprawled out on the couch engrossed in her new book. His wife was waiting anxiously for him at the kitchen table and he immediately knew something was wrong. Pulling out a chair he sat down and waited for Patricia to speak.

At first she just stared at him, suddenly doubting herself and what she had witnessed. Then Patricia remembered Taylor's reaction. Her daughter was a fighter, and had just stood there allowing that man to shake her like that. Hell, the 'normal' Taylor would have gone for, at the very least, a kick to his shins.

The thought was enough to loosen her tongue. "I know who hit Taylor."

That made Jethro sit up straighter. "Who?"

"Reverend Moore."

He looked at her in disbelief. "She told you that it was him? You sure she's not trying to pull another 'Mrs White'?"

"No, Taylor didn't say anything. I saw him. She doesn't even know that I know." Taking a deep breath, Patricia began to relate what had happened in the bookstore. By the time she'd finished Jethro was fit to be tied, and the only thing stopping him from tracking Moore down right there and then was his wife.

"I've been thinking about it all afternoon Jethro. I can understand why Taylor's been reluctant to say anything, I don't think she wants to upset your father. But no matter how hard I try I can't come up with a reason why he would do anything like that in the first place. What's made Moore so angry with her?"

Before Jethro had the chance to say anything Taylor walked past, book in hand still reading. She managed to navigate straight to the refrigerator without lifting her eyes from the page."

Jethro watched. "What? No hi dad? No, hope you didn't have to work too hard dad?"

Taylor peeked around the refrigerator door at him. "Hi dad, steal any more apples?"

"Funny. What's that in your hand?"

"Bottle of water." She held it up.

"Not that hand, the other one. It looks very like a book."

"That's cause it is. Mom bought it for me, it's a mystery, see!" Taylor passed it to him.

Jethro turned the book over in his hands, inspecting the cover, then looked at her carefully. "So you had a good afternoon then?"

There it was. That little flicker of uncertainty before she replied without actually answering the question..

"Probably better than yours. Does the sheriff still want to shoot me?"

"I think he's too tired to shoot anyone." He handed the book back and Taylor retreated to the living room, safe from any further questions.

"What are we going to do?" Patricia asked when Taylor was out of earshot.

"He's going to deny it." Jethro ran his hands over his face. "As much as I want to pay him a visit right now, it might be better to talk to Ed first, maybe he can get a hold of the security video from the bookstore. At least now we know who to protect her from. Lets face it, we'd never have figured that one out."

o

The instant the Reverend Moore opened his front door Jethro went on the offensive, driving the man back down the hallway and deeper into the house. Ed followed close behind.

"Wh … what's going on?" Moore's question was not directed at Gibbs, but at the sheriff. "Are you just going to stand by and allow him to treat me like this?"

They found themselves in a large room, filled with a variety of mismatched chairs and couches. Jethro had the man pinned up against the far wall now.

Grabbing him by the shirt Gibbs shook him. "Not nice when someone pushes you around, is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! Ed, stop him!" Moore's eyes widened when, instead of coming to his aid the sheriff ignored him and made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"Did you honestly think I'd let you get away with hurting my daughter?" Jethro gave him another shake when it looked as if the man wasn't going to answer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Had a feeling you'd say that." Afraid he was not going to be able to stop himself punching the scumbag, Jethro hauled him over to the nearest chair and pushed him into it.

Moore held his hands up. "Look, I don't know what that brat of yours told you, but she's lying! You can't seriously believe a word she says."

"Taylor didn't say anything, she was more interested in protecting her grandfather than what you did to her!" His anger steadily building up.

That confused Moor, and knocked a little confidence out of him.

Ed spoke for the first time. "Did you forget the bookstore has security cameras, or didn't you know they were there?"

The minister visibly paled, but didn't respond.

"When you bounced a twelve year olds head, MY TWELVE YEAR OLDS HEAD!" Jethro roared, then took a deep breath to calm down, "Off the wall I take it you noticed the damage you did to her face when you backhanded her."

"You can't prove that."

Gibbs gave him a dangerous smile. "Oh we can prove it." Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket he produced a swab. "Nice ring you have there. Wear it a lot do you?"

Moore subconsciously rubbed the cygnet ring on his pants.

"Hold out your hand." Jethro ordered.

Protesting, the minister curled his hand into a fist. "I don't have to …"

"Do it!" The sheriff ordered.

Reluctantly, Moore allowed Gibbs to swab the cygnet ring, and watched as the cotton tip turned pink when the reagent was added.

"Positive reaction for blood. Still want to deny it REVEREND?"

o

The Reverend Moore appeared to have taken a vow of silence.

"WHY? Jethro roared at him. He wanted answers and he wanted them now."

"She deserves everything she gets. If you can't stop the little bitch turning out just like her mother, I will! She runs around, doing whatever takes her fancy, no matter what the consequences."

Jethro clenched his fists. "What does Taylor's mother have to do with anything? You only met the woman once, and that must have been ten years ago."

When it looked as if Moore wasn't going to answer, the sheriff gave him a little incentive. "Either you answer the question, or I put you in handcuffs right now."

"Melissa …" He spat out with a hatred Jethro had seldom heard. "Bled me dry for almost five years, until my wife died."

"Blackmail?" Gibbs shook his head, not sure where this was going. "What the hell did Melissa have on you?"

For the first time the minister had the decency to look ashamed, but he couldn't seem to get any words out.

Then it clicked and Gibbs stared at him in disbelief. "You slept with my wife?"


	34. Chapter 34

_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters._

**Chapter 34**

In a flash the sheriff placed himself between the two men, fully expecting Jethro to strike the minister. Not that the man didn't deserve it, he just didn't want a bloodbath on his hands.

Instead of trying to get past Ed, Gibbs stepped away before he did something stupid. The revelation shocked, but didn't surprise him. Melissa had only ever thought about Melissa, and if a meal ticket like Moore presented itself she wouldn't have thought twice about taking it. It also explained why she had finally up and left shortly after their return to DC. Not only had she cleared out their joint bank accounts, but the Reverend Moore's too.

"It's alright Ed. I'm not gonna kill him." Jethro didn't speak again until the sheriff returned to his chair. "You think that justifies terrorising a child? Just because you couldn't keep it in your pants? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't adultery included in the ten commandments?"

The self righteous expression Moore had been wearing transformed into one of fury. Evidently he had seen himself more as a victim than a sinner. "You don't seem very surprised by your wife's behaviour. You really think that's the only time she ever screwed around?"

Finding it increasingly difficult to curb his temper, Jethro clenched his fists, but said nothing.

"Are you one hundred percent sure the little bitch is actually yours?" He added with a sneer.

That was it. Gibbs snapped, punching the minister square in the jaw, and knocking him to the ground.

Moore pushed himself to his feet. The second he was upright, Jethro swung again and put him back on his ass.

"If I were you Reverend, I'd stay down." Ed advised from the chair.

Realising there was going to be no support from the lawman he stayed where he was.

The sheriff continued. "The way I see it, you have two choices. The first is that I arrest you now for assaulting a minor and you can stand trial. That way everyone finds out about your dirty little secret and the church kicks you out on your ear. Won't matter much though, you'll probably get jail time."

Moore looked from one to the other. "And the second?" He asked, rubbing his jaw.

"You write your resignation here and now, and leave town tonight." Pushing himself out of the chair he stared down at him. "It's your choice."

Ed gave him a moment to make a decision. "Well, what's it going to be?"

"I'll leave." Moore snarled.

o

The letter had just been signed when they were interrupted by someone pounding on the door.

"Aren't you going to get that?" Ed asked when Moore just looked towards the hallway.

He shook his head.

When the banging continued Jethro took it upon himself to open the door.

Reverend Moore shot to his feet as Jackson stormed into the room and headed straight for him.

Without hesitation, Jackson drew back his fist before slamming it into Moore's face, and once again the soon to be ex-minister found himself on the floor.

"Don't you even think about touching, or coming anywhere near my granddaughter again!"

Placing a hand on his father's shoulder Jethro tried to calm him down. Getting wound up, no matter the provocation, wasn't good for him. "It's alright, he's leaving tonight dad, and unless he wants to find himself in a jail cell, he won't be back."

Jack looked at the man on the floor with disgust, before turning towards the door again. "Come on son, Patricia's worried. I'm sure Ed can take it from here."

The sheriff nodded. "I'll make sure he sticks to the agreement."

This time the minister had the good sense to stay where he was on the floor, until the Gibbs posse left.

o

When Taylor looked up from her book she expected to see Vicky coming through the bedroom door. Instead it was her mom and dad. Swearing to herself, she set her book down and eyed them warily, it looked like a deputation. Taylor's natural instinct kicked in.

"I didn't do nothin'." She immediately protested, then tried to work out if she had.

"Relax, you're innocent." Her dad told her as he sat down on Vicky's bed. "This time anyway. We just want to talk to you."

Taylor sat up and moved to give Patricia enough room to sit beside her.

"Okay. Wait a minute, what do you mean this time?" She wasn't sure if she should be offended or not. Then forgot about being insulted when her mom reached for her hand.

Jethro ignored the question. "He's not going to hurt you again Taylor."

She looked over at him, confused by the statement. "Who isn't?"

"Reverend Moore."

Taylor's jaw dropped, and she freed her hand from Patricia's. Was he guessing? He had to be. "Why would HE want to hurt me?" If she was honest with herself, she was a more than a little pissed that her dad had figured it out. It hadn't been easy trying to hide it.

"Are you telling us it wasn't him?" He asked calmly.

Taylor tried to maintain eye contact, but only lasted a few seconds. She found it much easier to hold her tongue, neither confirming nor denying anything. Unfortunately Taylor was the only one in the room who considered the silence to be acceptable.

"I asked you a question Taylor." Gibbs prompted.

"I'm not telling you if it was or wasn't. If you want to think it was him, go ahead, you do that." She picked up her book in the hope they'd get the message and leave.

They didn't. When she snuck a glance over at her dad it was clear that she wasn't the only one building up a head of steam. It was time to cut her losses. "How'd you find out?"

Jethro's temper receded quickly. "I didn't, your mom did."

Taylor looked up at her mom. "You did? How?"

"They have security cameras at the bookstore."

"Oh." It was just as well she hadn't denied it. Then she remembered why she'd been hiding it. "You didn't tell grandpa, did you?"

"He knows." Jethro told his daughter then waited for the explosion.

"What did you do that for? WHY THE HELL COULDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE IT?"

"You'd better get that temper under control Taylor." Her dad warned. "I'm not gonna put up with much more."

Taylor glared at him, then shuffled down the bed until she could climb off past her mom and stood up.

She wasn't going anywhere, just wanted to leave her options open in case she needed to make a quick exit.

Jethro scuppered her escape plan when he reached out and pulled her closer and onto his lap. "Why didn't you want your grandpa to find out?"

"It doesn't exactly matter anymore, does it?" She mumbled, pouting.

"It matters." He whispered into her ear.

Taylor whispered back. "Cause I've made him mad all summer, and now he's gonna get mad at me all over again cause I made the minister so angry, you know, about the baby Jesus thing."

"Do you honestly think your grandpa wouldn't want to know that Reverend Moore hit you?" Patricia leaned towards her, and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "No one has the right to hurt you like that, no matter what the reason."

"Your mom's right Taylor, and just because the man was a minister doesn't make any difference. Your grandpa has a right to know what's been going on, and to make his own decisions when it comes to his friends. He's not angry with you, I promise, but I'm sure he'll tell you himself tomorrow."

That made sense, sort of. "Bet the minister is though, isn't he gonna come after me even more now?"

"He's not going to be around to hurt you anymore."

Taylor looked at her father suspiciously. "You didn't shoot him did you?"

He reached round and tickled her. "No. I did not shoot him. He's decided to leave."

She swatted his hand away to stop him. "He did? When's he going?"

"Tonight."

Twisting off his lap, Taylor stood up. "Tonight? But he can't, not before …."

Jethro also got to his feet in an effort to get his daughter to see sense. "Before what? If you're thinking about confronting him you can just put that idea right out of your head."

Taylor considered what her dad had said for all of two seconds, before storming out of the bedroom.

When Jethro stood his ground Patricia made to go after her, but he stopped her by putting a hand on her arm.

"Aren't you going to stop her?" She asked, not understanding why he was letting her go.

"No. Just give it a minute, she'll be back."

Both stood and listened as Taylor stomped halfway down the stairs, then stopped. For a few seconds they heard nothing, then their daughter's voice drifted up to them.

"CRAP!" Taylor reappeared shortly after, complete with a scowl on her face. Kicking off her sneakers she ignored her parents and threw herself down onto her bed.

Patricia looked at her in amazement. She would never have predicted that, not in a million years. She'd expected Taylor would have to be brought back, kicking and screaming. "What made you come back?"

Taylor looked up at her, guilt written all over her face and shrugged. "Just changed my mind."

While her mom might have been impressed by her newly acquired common sense, her father was not so easily fooled. Standing behind Patricia he shook his head at their daughter, but didn't rat her out.

Luckily Vicky chose that moment to return home, and Patricia who'd been waiting for her to show up, left the bedroom before she could ask any more awkward questions.

Gibbs trapped Taylor in an accusing glare.

"What? I came back didn't I?" The way she figured, her dad might have his suspicions, but he couldn't prove a thing.

"Oh you know what! Sit up, we're not done talking yet."

As soon as Taylor moved, Jethro took her by surprise, grabbing her arm and tipping her over his knee.

Taylor looked back over her shoulder, trying to push herself up at the same time. "What'd I do?"

He held her firmly. "Nothing. I just thought it would improve your memory."

"You what?" She'd stopped struggling, but wasn't happy.

"Do I need to remind you what'll happen if you take it upon yourself to sneak out in the middle of the night?" Just because Taylor had given up the idea of paying Moore a visit right now, didn't mean she wouldn't come up with some crazy way to do it later that night. That was not going to happen.

Indignant at the accusation, Taylor scowled. "I haven't done that in a long time dad!" Her protest was accompanied by a few experimental wriggles, just to see if her father had loosened his grip."

He hadn't. "That's not what I asked."

Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was still afraid to repeat the offense, Taylor tried to get away without answering.

"Alright, maybe this will jog your memory." He raised his right arm, even though he had no intention of smacking her. It had the desired effect.

"No, you don't have to remind me, I remember just fine!" Taylor reassured him. She'd spoken so quickly she sounded like Abby after one to many Caf-pows.

"What'll happen Taylor?" He wanted to make sure they were both on the same page.

Acutely aware that her father's hand was still poised above her backside, she answered just as fast. "I won't sit down for a week!"

Lowering his arm, Jethro helped her up. "Good. Now we've got that straight it's about time you were in bed."

Her dad was almost through the door when Taylor noticed him remove a small silver square from his shirt pocket. She hadn't realised Vicky was still being given patches.

"You know being attacked by a minister was very traumatic dad."

Jethro paused, turning back to her.

"It is, huh? You don't seem very traumatised to me."

"Maybe I just hide it well." Taylor wasn't entirely convinced he believed her, but what the hell, it was worth a try. "There is something that might help me get over it."

Retracing his steps Jethro bent down, kissing her cheek. "Nice try Taylor, but you're still not getting a nicotine patch."

Patricia was waiting for Jethro at the bottom of the stairs. "Alright, how did you know Taylor was going to see sense and come back?"

Jethro grinned at her smugly. "It's a highly trained special agent thing, you wouldn't understand."

"Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight? Because if you do, you're going the right way about it!" Patricia threatened.

He pulled her close, into an embrace, then whispered into her ear. "Taylor has absolutely no idea where Reverend Moore lives."


End file.
